EASTER VIGIL VII Actions and Hope May 24, 2020

AS WE PONDER WORSHIP TODAY In this season we gather in vigil and in prayer. We can still hear the echoes of Jesus’ words from the cross. We can still hear the echoes of the slamming of the tomb. We can lament in the confidence that Friday gives way to Sunday. We know that that tomb stands empty and that Jesus speaks to us once again at break of day. God actions reveal who he is. This is clear when God was about to redeem Israel from exile. “Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came” (Ez. 36:22ff). It is also clear when Christ breaks bread and the eyes of the disciples are opened (Lk. 24:13–35). God’s actions also give us confidence. “We know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1ff). You might say, then, that when God acts he reveals himself and gives us confidence. He acts and gives us hope.

PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP O Lord, my creator, redeemer, and comforter, as I come to worship You in spirit and in truth, I humbly pray that You would open my heart to the preaching of Your Word so that I may repent of my sins, believe in Jesus Christ as my only Savior, and grow in grace and holiness. Hear me for the sake of His name. Amen. Prayer before worship, inside cover of LSB

THEME VERSE The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. — Zephaniah 3:15

INVOCATION The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen.

VERSICLES P O Lord, open my lips, C and my mouth will declare Your praise. P Make haste, O God, to deliver me; C make haste to help me, O Lord. C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.

PSALMODY

P The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. C O come, let us worship Him.

VENITE C O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise. For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. The deep places of the earth are in His hand; the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hand formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

P The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. C O come, let us worship Him.

READINGS FIRST READING Ezekiel 36:22–32 P A reading from Ezekiel:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my just decrees. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

PSALM READING Psalm 131:1–3 P A reading of Psalm 131:

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 5:1–10 P A reading from 2nd Corinthians:

We know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL READING Luke 24:13–35 P A reading from Luke:

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORY P Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens. C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells. P Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells. P Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.

SERMON “Hope” The grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Facebook reminded me the other day that it has been six years since my graduation from seminary. It’s kind of fun to think back to that time and consider what I was looking forward to, what I thought I’d miss, and what would be the biggest challenge in the days ahead. Knowing where things are today it is almost comical to think about my worries and hopes then. In some ways I was right, in other ways I was wrong, and in many ways I had no idea what was coming. I’m glad I’m not alone in that today too. How many of us three months ago thought life would look much different today than it actually does? Probably all of us. I’ve seen more than a few memes across social media that communicate that. They very simply say, this is what I thought 2020 would look like, this is what it actually looks like, and the difference between the two is stark. All of us, as individuals and as a community are experiencing this disconnect together. We hoped it would be one way, turns out it isn’t. I hoped that when we decided to suspend services we could come back with gusto a couple of weeks later, but that isn’t what it looks like. I hoped that when I created this Easter Vigil season I wouldn’t need all eight weeks of propers, but I did. I hoped that our fast from communion would be short, but it gets longer by the day. What about you? What about the last few months looks nothing like you thought it would? What looks different than what you had hoped it would be? Sometimes the dissonance we feel when our hopes do not match reality is because we had the wrong hope. We were naive or ill-informed or too much of an optimist or pessimist; sometimes its our own fault. Other times, though, it isn’t because we had the wrong hope, it’s because, through no fault of our own, we couldn’t see what was going on. Two of the characters in our gospel text today embody that reality. They were heading to Emmaus and as they walked were arguing back and forth with one another, somewhat despondent over the reality of their last few days. A week ago they had seen Jesus welcomed into the city, by that week’s end, their Lord hung on a cross. What they had hoped would happen seemingly didn’t. As they are talking about it, Jesus comes up beside them and they are quite literally prevented from seeing that it is him. The text says, “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” Why? I have no idea. But, you also see this kind of thing happen with Mary Magdalene in John’s account, she doesn’t recognize Jesus right away. Some might have us believe that this is because the physical resurrection didn’t happen or it doesn’t matter, to which I’d say, you’re wrong, it does matter and it did happen. But that doesn’t mean I can answer why Mary Magdalene or these disciples can’t recognize Jesus right away, maybe its the same reason, maybe its a different one, either way I don’t have an answer. They just can’t see that it is him right away, even when he asks them a question. “What are you two talking about?” And you can almost hear the disbelief at his question. They must think he is completely ignorant. “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem these last few days who doesn’t know?” And I wonder how sarcastic Jesus was when he said, “what things?” And they let rip, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” We had hoped; as if what they hoped for was wrong. They don’t stop there, of course. They tell the story of the women at the tomb and it’s clear that they don’t believe the women. Jesus then speaks up, he calls them slow of heart to believe and then, beginning with Moses and all of the prophets he showed them, he interpreted for them the scriptures all things concerning himself. Wouldn’t that have been quite the bible study? Jesus has now spoken to them, taught them, and they still don’t see that it is him. That doesn’t happen until they finally reach their destination. Jesus is about to go on but they beg him to stay. He goes inside, takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. Then, in a moment that echoes the garden when Adam and Eve eat and their eyes are opened, these disciples take the bread and their eyes are opened, and Jesus, well he disappears from their sight. They are stunned. “Were not our hearts burning within us when he opened the scriptures?” And despite just having finished the seven mile journey from Jerusalem, they get up and go back. They find the disciples and tell their story, how Jesus was known in the breaking of the bread. This inevitably leads us to ask, is what they were doing communion? Kind of like before when we ask what is going with them not being able to recognize him, I just don’t know. Again there is kind of a parallel in John where Jesus is talking about bread and wine and eating and drinking and you can catch some eucharistic overtones, but its probably safer not to say that it is for sure communion. I’d same the same thing here. Certainly there are things that spark our imagination, and rightly so, giving thanks, breaking bread, eyes being opened. But we shouldn’t press the text too far. We might want to, but what we want, what we hope to be true, might not be. That is one of the more significant portions of this text, what the disciples on the road to Emmaus had hoped for. They had hoped he would redeem Israel and they are upset because they don’t think he has. They think Christ’s death was all for nothing. They had hoped, but it didn’t seem to them to be reality. And so Jesus responds, not by saying, surprise, here I am. But by teaching them the scriptures, by reshaping their hope. It isn’t that they had hoped for the wrong thing, it is right for them to hope that Jesus would redeem Israel, the problem is that they couldn’t see what that actually meant. So Jesus begins with Moses and the prophets and teaches them what the scriptures say about redeeming Israel, who would do it, how, and why. Their hearts are burning within them as he does, even if they don’t recognize it’s him, they know this guy is speaking truth. What they had hoped for, the redemption of Israel, indeed was happening, but they didn’t see it quite yet, because they didn’t see him quite yet, through no fault of their own. Then he takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and their eyes are opened. What Jesus did for those disciples he does for the church throughout the ages. He takes our hopes and he reshapes them according to his word. Only when our hope is formed by his word of promise can we not be disappointed. Only when we see all things through the scriptures do we begin to understand what it is we should be longing for. By that I don’t mean that use the scriptures like a newspaper or rule book. That isn’t what Jesus teaches them. No, he teaches them how the scriptures speak about him. He said, you guys hoped for the right thing, let me show you what it means, let me reveal myself to you. And he does just that, through word, and in the breaking of the bread, Jesus reveals himself to the disciples. And he does that to you too. In the word Christ reveals himself to you. He shows you that it was for you he died. That it is your sin he has forgiven. That is is your future he has secured through his cross and resurrection. He shows you that indeed the hoped for redemption of Israel has happened through his person and work and that you are a part of it. None of us know how the next few months will go. None of us know how the next few days will go. But each and every one of us know how the story ends. It ends in Christ’s victory. And because it does, we can have hope for today, tomorrow, the day after that, the day after that, and the day after that. Christ, through his word, has reshaped our understanding of hope and a future by being the firstborn from the dead. We may not have the breaking of bread today, but we still have Jesus revealing himself to us. He does that using physical, or sacramental, manifestations of his word, using water, using bread, and using wine, but make no mistake, he does that using verbal ones too, by saying, I forgive you. By saying, your hope is in me, no matter what the next few months look like. By pointing you to his cross, to his empty tomb, and to the hope that you have in him today, tomorrow, and every day. Hope that cannot disappoint because of the cross he endured and the tomb he left. Amen.

PRAYER KYRIE LSB 227 C Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

LORD'S PRAYER P Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray: C Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY P O God, who gave your name to Moses at the burning bush and has promised to vindicate that name before all those who scoff, put your spirit upon us as a guarantee of our salvation and in order that our lives may aid in the vindication of your name to the nations. All glory, honor, and dominion are yours, together with your Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. C Amen.

COLLECT FOR THE WORLD P Look mercifully, O Lord, we implore You, on the affliction of Your people. Let not our sin destroy us, nor hopelessness overwhelm us, but let Your boundless mercy save us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. C Amen.

COLLECT FOR GRACE P O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C Amen.

BENEDICAMUS P Let us bless the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

BENEDICTION P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. C Amen.

HYMN Holy God, We Praise Thy Name LSB 940

Text and tune: Public domain

Acknowledgments Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 2. Copyright © 2018 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Matins from Lutheran Service Book Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.