Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter

LISTEN (coming soon)

Jesu Juva

“Restoring Hope through the Word”

Text: Luke 24:13-35; 1 Peter 1:17-25

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

We had hoped.

We had hope. 

Now we do not. It’s gone. It died on a cross.

So it was for those two men walking, trudging, back to Emmaus. Maybe the longest seven miles of their lives. Two of them, Luke says. Two disciples of Jesus. Two who knew Him . . . or thought they did.

We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

We had hoped.

We had hope.

Now we do not. 

Their hopes are dashed. No, shattered. No, obliterated. The kind of obliteration there’s no coming back from. Crushing. Death does that.

You probably know something of that. If it hasn’t happened to you, you’ve probably seen it happen to someone else. 

When I was in Seminary, my second year, a fourth year student, Ray, just a couple of months from receiving his call, graduating, and becoming a pastor was killed in a car crash right at the front gate of the Seminary. His fiancée in the car with him survived, but was critically injured. We had hoped . . . 

Marriages start with great hope and joy and celebration. Til death us do part. The hope of children. A future and life together. But how many end too soon? From death, from sin, from selfishness. We had hoped . . .

And we could say the same thing about many careers, friendships, churches, dreams . . . The detritus of shattered lives all around us. Bits and pieces of hopes and dreams. No one wants to be the man on the median begging for money. No one wants to be a single mom. No one thinks it will happen to them. We had hoped . . .

And we wonder why? Why do these things happen? Sometimes there’s an answer. Fault. Blame. Sometimes not. Either way, we think, we just have to make the best of it. 

But is that the life God wants for you? A life where you just have to make the best of it? Trudging, slogging along.

For those two men, trudging back to Emmaus, there was no best of it to be had! There was no picking of these pieces. They had to figure out LIFE again. They thought, they hoped . . . Now, they need NEW thoughts and NEW hopes. But what can compare to this one? What could replace this one? That the Messiah had come! Nothing else will measure up. Or even come close.

Or so they thought . . .

There was a lot of confusion, too. Compounding things in their rattled brains. The report of the women . . . an empty tomb, a vision of angels . . . But that’s what often happens with tragedies or major events. Lots of rumors, stories, reports, many of which later turn out not to be true. We have to wait for the dust to settle. The investigation to take place. Then the truth will come out.

They weren’t there yet. Still too much dust in the air. Too much confusion. Too much pain. 

We had hoped.

We had hope.

Now we do not.

So Jesus cuts through it all - all the hopelessness and confusion. But not just by appearing to them and giving them a glimpse of Him alive - the time for that would come. But first giving them something more steadfast and reliable than that. Something OLD that wasn’t like the many and varied reports coming in that may or may not be true. Something that wouldn’t change because it couldn’t change. Jesus gives them the Word of God. The Word written long before this that not only said all this was going to happen, but that it HAD to happen this way. That it was necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory. That He HAD to die and rise from the dead. This was known, as we heard Peter write in his Epistle, from before the foundation of the world. And then revealed by God through the prophets. Now it has happened. God did it! Why are you surprised? Why are you dismayed? Why are you not rejoicing?

Well, you know why. It’s hard! They’re conflicted. They want to believe, they want to hear more. But once your hopes get shattered, its hard to hope again. Don’t get fooled again! Once bitten, twice shy. So stay with us, stranger. Teach us more. Renew our hope.

And Jesus does. But just for a moment. For now that He has revealed Himself to them in the words of the prophets, now He reveals Himself to them in the breaking of the bread. Not as proof, but as confirmation that the Word of God was true and right all along. So that their faith and hope are firmly anchored not in what they see, but in the Word of God. The Word of God that will last. For the word of the Lord endures forever. 

This we must learn as well. For us, if we see the detritus of shattered lives all around us; bits and pieces of hopes and dreams - even our own! - why are we surprised? If we are hurt, if there is pain, if we are sinned against . . . If there is persecution, opposition, evil in the world . . . If we are betrayed, used, shoved aside . . . Did not the Word of God say this would happen? Jesus Himself also said so. If they hate me, they will hate you. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. The evil one will try to deceive you and mislead you. He will attack and harass you. He will give you no peace. Jesus himself said so . . . so why are we surprised when he does? 

Well, maybe it’s not so much the what as the who. When those we thought we could trust, we could rely on, are the ones doing the hurting and betraying. And then realize, I’ve done it, too! I’ve hurt, I’ve betrayed, I’ve failed, I’ve sinned against my loved ones, I’ve done the shattering, too . . . 

There’s only one who never did. The one who saw the detritus of this world, all the shattered lives, all the broken pieces, who looked around and saw a world harassed and helpless, wounded people like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), and so came to be that shepherd, to pick all up all the shattered pieces, all the dry bones, and renew our hope. So that for all the shattering you’ve done, to say to you I forgive you. For your wounded souls, to say to you I love you. For the betrayal you’ve suffered, to say to you I will never leave you or forsake you. To take your shame away from you and make it His. To wash away your uncleanness. And to feed your hungering and thirsting soul with His own Body and Blood. To restore hope . . . not just to a broken and fallen world, but to broken and fallen you.

Hope even while we are walking through this world. Or slogging, or trudging. Like those disciples. Jesus didn’t immediately reveal Himself to them and make their aching hearts magically go away, and He doesn’t make all our troubles magically go away - though that’s what we want. But He walked with them and stayed with them and gave them what they needed, though they didn’t realize it at the time. 

And He does for us, too. We know what we want, but He knows what we need. The day will come when Jesus will reveal Himself to our eyes, and we will arrive and feast at His eternal table. That day will come, but is not yet. We’re still on the journey. And there will be days of pain, and days of joy. There will be days we are strong and days we are weak. Days of happiness and days when the challenges seem too much for us. Don’t be surprised. It was that way for the patriarch, prophets, and apostles, too. But through it all, they were never alone. 

And as a baptized child of God, baptized into Jesus, you are not and will not be either. You cannot be, for Jesus is risen from the dead and has given you His Spirit. Maybe your sin will make you doubt, maybe like those two disciples on the road, Jesus will hide Himself from you for a moment. But He was there all along. 

So as Jesus taught those two disciples, don’t believe what you see or feel, or the reports coming out of the world that God is irrelevant, or a myth, or dead. You have the Word and truth of the one who said He would die and rise and did so - for you. So that we never have to say . . .

We had hoped.

We had hope.

Now we do not. 

But instead say: Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] 

And rejoice! Rejoice that we are children of God. Even when its hard. For in the midst of an evil and constantly changing and shifting and uncertain world, and people who let us down, and when we let ourselves down, our hope is not here, in this. Our faith and hope and life are in God, the empty tomb, and all His words and promises fulfilled for us by that stranger - but a stranger no more! - walking on the road to Emmaus. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Congregation at Prayer

For the Third Week of Easter (April 20-25, 2026)

Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speak the Apostles’ Creed. 

Verse: John 10:9a – [Jesus said:] “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.”

Hymn of the Week:  Lutheran Service Book #709 “The King of Love My Shepherd Is”

Hymns for Sunday: 463, 709, 540, 740, 525, 487

Readings for the Week: [The readings for Thursday-Saturday are the Scriptures for this coming Sunday.]

Monday: Psalm 23

Who is the “goodness and mercy” of God who follows you? Why?

Tuesday: Ezekiel 34:11-16

What does God promise to do? Why? What do His sheep need? Why haven’t they received it? How will God fulfill this word?

Wednesday: Isaiah 52:7-10

What good news did Isaiah prophecy? How did the Lord comfort His people? How does He comfort us today? What do we need? How does He give it?

Thursday: Acts 2:42–47

How were the early Christians devoted to God? To one another? Could we be this way today? Should we? Why? How?

Friday: 1 Peter 2:19–25

Why was Christ called on to suffer? Why might you be called on to suffer as well? How can we follow His example here? Who has been given to us to help us do this?

Saturday: John 10:1-10

What does it mean that Jesus is the door? The door to where? How is that door open to us? What does Jesus want for us?

The Catechism - The Ten Commandments: The Close of the Commandments [part 2]: What does this mean? God threatens to punish all who break these commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep these commandments. Therefore, we should also love and trust in Him and gladly do what He commands.

Collect for the Week: Almighty God, merciful Father, since You have wakened from death the Shepherd of Your sheep, grant us Your Holy Spirit that when we hear the voice of our Shepherd we may know Him who calls us each by name and follow where He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

The Prayers:  Please pray for . . .

+ yourself and for all in need (remembering especially those on our prayer list).

+ God’s blessing, wisdom, and guidance for our congregation Board of Evangelism and Outreach.

+ the Lutheran Synod of Mexico, for God’s wisdom, blessing, guidance, and provision.

+ God’s blessing, guidance, wisdom, and provision for Lutherans for Life.

Conclude with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer from the Catechism.

Now joyfully go about your day (or to bed) in good cheer, child of God!

Collect for the Week © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.

Lutheran Service Book Hymn License: 110019268 

Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter

LISTEN

Jesu Juva

“Great Is Our Joy!”

Text: John 20:19-31; Acts 5:29-42; 1 Peter 1:3-9

 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Easter is a season of joy. Not just one day, but fifty days we’ll be singing Easter hymns and rejoicing. Christ is risen! How could we not?

Is that strange? Fifty days of joy? Some think so. That four, five, six weeks after Easter and all the chocolate is eaten and the decorations long put away and forgotten, we’re still singing Easter hymns!

Maybe it is because joy is in such limited supply in our world today. This world of sin and struggle, of polarization and selfishness, of criticism and judgment. Some people cannot rejoice because they’re always worried that bad news is right around the corner. They’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop. People like that . . . I don’t know if they’re pessimists, realists, or have just led a hard life. 

Joy seems to be hard for us. We want it . . . but maybe not too much? Don’t get your hopes up so you won’t be disappointed. People who seem to be perpetually joyful, we envy them. We want to be like that. What do they have that we don’t? 

Jesus. 

But not just “Sunday Jesus.” Everyday Jesus. Every moment Jesus. Triumphant, resurrected, cannot die again, Jesus. Psalm 30 says, Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (v. 5b). That doesn’t mean sleep it off! The morning there is the morning of the resurrection. The morning of the eighth day that we are now living in - the day of eternity; the day that will never end. The day Jesus created with His resurrection. The old creation had seven days. Do you know how many days the new creation has? One. And it will never end. 

So the Scriptures we heard today are filled with joy. This is, by the way, one of the reasons why I think the message of the Apostles was so contagious and successful. That when they went out and preached, they were filled with joy! Yes, it was the Word of God and yes, it was the work of the Spirit. But I believe this, too: joy. Joy which is the second gift of the Spirit after love. The joy they preached is the joy they lived. It wasn’t just a job. They weren’t just slogging through it. They couldn’t wait to tell others. And that was noticed. People wanted that. If Christians are just grumpy, judgmental people . . . why do that? Why would I want that? I have enough of that in my life! But joy, that I need! Where can I find that?

Jesus. Joy comes with the morning. His morning.

So it was in the Holy Gospel we heard today. Sunday morning had come and gone, but the Son had not yet risen on the disciples. They were still in the darkness of sin and death, captive to their fears behind locked doors and windows. But when Jesus came to them - body and blood Jesus, resurrected Jesus, who showed them His hands and side - they were filled with joy. Now, the English translation we heard today said, they were glad when the saw the Lord. Really? NO! The word for glad there is rejoiced! They rejoiced! They whooped it up! Their joy burst out of them! And then, I think after things settled down a little, Jesus said to them, Now go give this same joy to others.

Which they tried to do with their friend, Thomas. But Thomas was still stuck. The Son had not yet risen on him. He would not, could not, believe. Until the eighth day . . . You think it an accident or a coincidence that John writes that? He could have said the next week, or a week later, or something like that. But he writes that it was eight days later. The eighth day. The new day. The day the Son rose on Thomas and gave him joy.

We heard of this joy also in the first reading from Acts. The disciples were out and about in Jerusalem, and specifically in the Temple, preaching Jesus and telling everyone of their joy - Jesus’ resurrection! And for this they were beaten. The Jewish leaders were flummoxed. They didn’t know what to do. But at least they could beat the joy out of the Apostles. Except they couldn’t! [The Apostles] left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Their joy could not be contained or beaten out of them. Every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

And then Peter wrote about this joy in the Epistle. Peter who was one of those beaten that day by the Jewish leaders. We have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, he says. Born again into the eighth day, the new creation, the day of never-ending life. And in this you too rejoice, he says, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. No rose-colored glasses. No blind optimism here. Peter knows life is rough and tough. The Christians and churches he is writing to have been enduring suffering and persecution. But their joy surpasses, supersedes that and remains. And so, he continues, though you do not now see [Jesus], you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Joy comes with the morning; when the Son rises upon you. 

So there’s joy all over the place in our Scripture for today! So . . . what so often takes our joy away? For the Son has risen upon us. We are baptized into the eighth day, the day of the new creation, the day of eternal life. So this joy is ours. So what happened to it? Where is it for you? What has taken it away? 

Well, many things, I’m sure. One is, perhaps, when we become preoccupied, obsessed with the things of this world that cannot give us joy - not a true and lasting joy anyway. Success, acceptance, achievement, popularity. Maybe we’re happy for a bit, but then the next hurdle, the next challenge comes, and we’re back down in the slog.

Or maybe for you it’s fear. Fear of failure. Fear of what others will do to you. Fear of your sins being found out. Or maybe this world and life has beaten it out of you. But it couldn’t be beaten out of the Apostles . . . so what are we missing? What have we forgotten? How has the devil deceived us and misled us away from where true joy is found?

Perhaps it is because we confuse happiness and joy. One of the best explanations I’ve heard of the difference between those two things is that happiness comes from without, from the things around us being as we want them. So when the things around us go south, go wrong, change, and aren’t as we hoped, our happiness also goes away. But joy comes from within. Joy isn’t dependent on whether other people and things are good and right and are as I want. Joy has a different source . . . 

Jesus.

We can’t conjure up joy within us, but it can be given to us. As I said earlier, joy is the second of the gifts of the Spirit listed by Paul. So true joy is a gift from God. Which explains why the Apostles could be joyful even when beaten, and those early Christians could rejoice even in the face of suffering and persecution. The Son had risen upon them. They knew Jesus had triumphed over sin and death and all evil. Their sins are forgiven. You can kill me, but you can’t take my life! There’s a freedom in being able to say that. A joy, a confidence, that can only come from Jesus. 

So when we confuse happiness and joy, we pursue joy the wrong way. We can end up pursuing happiness instead of joy and miss both. So rather than trying to have everything around us just right and how I want it, and so being happy for a moment, until the next problem arises that takes that happiness away . . . rather than focusing on those things which I maybe can or cannot control . . . 

Jesus.

He comes and brings His joy, His triumph, His resurrection, His new creation, His forgiveness, His life, His Spirit, and raises you up. You are my child, and nothing can change that. Your sins are forgiven, and nothing can change that. I love you, and nothing can change that. Here is My Body, My Blood, My life and salvation, and nothing can change that. You are mine, and nothing can change that. Think that might give you a joy different than happiness? That cannot be taken away?

So even when you suffer as a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, or wife . . . even when you suffer for doing good, for fulfilling your vocation, for being faithful . . . even when a sinful world comes crashing down on you, when you wish things were different, when you have that aching pain that never seems to go away - in your body or in your heart - you can rejoice! Peter says. Not because its easy or pleasant - I’m sure the Apostles left the Jewish leaders that day they were beaten in great pain. But as Luther wrote in a hymn, And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, though these all be gone, our victory has been won; the Kingdom our remaineth (LSB #656 v. 4). You have what they cannot take away . . . 

Jesus. 

The devil tried. The world tried. Death tried. And they all failed. Jesus rose from the dead! And because He did, the victory is ours. And that joy is greater than a championship parade for a victorious team, winning a gold medal, the joy of when World War 2 ended, or any other joy you can think of. And when you think of it that way . . . fifty days? That’s not long enough! We need longer than that! And we will have longer. An eternity to rejoice in Jesus and His love. 

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

Our sin forgiving, alleluia! Jesus is living, alleluia! (LSB #466 refrain)

So if your joy doesn’t seem endless but absent, don’t look to yourself or to others to give you what you need. It’s here. In Jesus. Eat it, drink it, read it, hear it, splash around in it! And then take this joy with you. Back home, back to work, back to school. And when others wonder what’s in you? What’s gotten to you? You know what to say . . .

Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] 

How can I not be joyful?

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.