April 20, 2025  Easter 

Candle lighting 

The light of Jesus shines once again in the world.

Welcome and Announcements 

Call to Worship
We have known grief. We have known loss.  We have known the long road, tired and winding.
We have whispered prayers on bended knees. We have stared at the sky, empty of stars.
But today— today we know hope.
Today we know life.   Today we know the sound of Alleluias.
Today we know that death does not have the last word.
Today we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
It is Easter.  He is risen!
May hope find us. And may we know, deep in our bones, that today is a new day. Alleluia! Amen.  

Hymn:  258  Thine be the glory

Prayer of Approach 

God of Alleluias and empty tombs, God of garden plots and good news, it is Easter. It is finally Easter.  

In a world full of grief and heartache, in a world full of violence and oppression, in a world full of loss and separation, we rejoice on  this day because Easter sings a different song. 

WE praise you because Easter sings your song. 

Easter sings a song of hope.  

Easter sings a song of new life.  

Easter sings a song of love that makes us run barefoot to the tomb, in eagerness to worship. 

Easter smells of fresh flowers and baked bread, our senses know what renewal and love smells like.    

It sounds like trumpets and laughter, the sound of rejoicing, the sound of salvation.   

It feels like a crowded table and a warm hug. Yes, Easter sings a different song.  As we worship you this day help us to sing this song in our hearts and with our voices.   

So in a world full of grief, help us to cling to Easter’s hope.  In a world full of grief, help us hear this story of good news.  With hope we worship, with hope  we pray, with hope we listen; and with joy we respond to your love and grace.  Amen.  

Call to Confession
Today we are called to worship with joy.  We sing the song of salvation.  But when we come to the prayer of confession do we remember to pray with joy?   Surely we are meant to be somber and serious.  

Instead let us look at  the prayer of confession like a fresh page, like the promise of hope following grief.    

The prayer of confession allows us to start again.  

When we move closer to God, we are always met with grace, mercy, and abundant love. And my friends, that hopeful and it is joyful. That feels like Easter, doesn’t it? 

So join me in the prayer of confession. Let us pray:  

Prayer of Confession:
The women ran from the tomb and told the disciples the news of the resurrection.   But these words seemed to the disciples an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter ran to the tomb. Forgive us, God, when good news lands in our lap and we refuse to believe it. Forgive us, God, when grief and fear crowd out any room in our hearts for hope. Forgive us, God, when we dismiss the stories of others and minimize the voices of our neighbors.  In a world that teeters between grief and hope, show us how to be like Peter.   Show us how to hold onto hope.  Show us how to run toward you. Amen.  

Assurance of Pardon 

At first, the disciples didn’t believe that Jesus had risen. They stayed locked in an upper room, shaking and afraid. Peter was the only exception. Fortunately, Jesus loves us on our best days and our worst days.  

God’s grace exists for us when we are hopeful and when we’re grieving, when we’re shouting and when we’re silent, when we’re full of faith and when we’re full of fear. God’s grace exists for us on the best days, the worst days, and every day in between.  

Thanks be to God for this good news! Alleluia! Jesus is Risen and in him we are forgiven.  Amen.  

Passing the Peace
The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 
 

Hymn:  248 At the dawning of salvation

Scripture:

Responsive  Psalm 118: 15-29 p 956
Luke 24:  1-12, 36-43 p 1642 

Sermon:  between grief and hope 

None of us here are strangers to grief.  We have all walked in the pain of missing someone who has died.  Grandparents, parents, spouses, children,  cousins and best friends.  Each loss different in its intensity, and yet in their own way each loss is overwhelming. 

We all know how grief can alter one’s outlook on life.  Each of us grieves in our own way.  Yet what is universal in grief, is that each of us has learned how to live in a new way, starting again daily, getting up, putting one foot in front of the other and getting on with life.   

Sometimes we spend the day in our pj’s eating peanut butter out of a jar, other days we go forth to engage the world.  It’s a up and down process that gets easier over time but never goes away.   

 

Do you know what keeps us going, getting up every day and starting again?  Hope. 

We have hope.  Hope that gives us the confidence to know that we will be reunited with our loved one.  We have hope that life still holds joy for us, even when all we feel is pain.  

Sadly, sometimes we hear people say that the situation is hopeless.   

 

But when there is no possibility of hope, there is no reason to go on.   For that reason, no matter what, our life situations are never hopeless.    

Today we find the followers of Jesus in the depths of grief.  It has barely begun to sink in.  What has happened has been the unthinkable.  We know what they are feeling.  Loss.  Helplessness.  Grief. Pain. Confusion.   

Not only is Jesus gone from them; they witnessed the most gruesome death possible.  With him gone the possibility of the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus promised is gone.   

And while it can seem that for them there is nothing left, they are still all together.  They are supporting each other through the reality of having lost their leader. And of losing the  movement to fight for.  And losing the restoration of the Kingdom on earth.   

Despite all that loss, there is still something that keeps them going.  Hope.   

 

That hope may not be strong, and it may only come in glimmers.  It doesn’t speak loudly enough to help any of his followers make sense of what happened at Calvary, or even to make sense of the empty tomb, or the angels that speak to them; but that hope is still speaking in their hearts. 

We see that hope glimmering in the pain of grief as the women gather their bags of spices and walk up the hill to the tomb.  They go to express their love by doing the necessary things, anoint his body for death, and express their grief in tears. 

This journey is more than hope.  It is about love.  It is about gratitude.  It is about knowing that even without him, and the future they thought they would have, his presence in their lives has left it better, fuller, and more purposeful. 

Then, these women found the stone rolled away. 

They went inside and found the tomb empty.   

Suddenly there appeared two men in bright shining clothes.  In fear the women bent down to the ground.  

The men asked the all-important question; a question they did not understand.    

Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Luke 24: 5-6 NIV 

 

Do you think that question penetrated their grief?  Was it possible the glimmer of hope shone more brightly for a moment?  

Was that glimmer enough to overcome the grief?  No.   

Did they understand the implication of the question?  Probably not.  

Was Jesus among the living?  What did that mean exactly?  They had been taught that those who died went to the place of the dead until the Messiah appeared….
Until the Messiah appeared.  Was that truth finding a way into their hearts?   

In the confusion of grief, none of what these men said made any sense.  

The men went on to talk about Jesus having already told them, “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”  Luke 24: 7 NIV 

And the women started to remember.   

They started to remember what they did not understand when Jesus spoke of it.  They started to remember, and the glimmer of hope grew once more. 

Imagine them, after trudging up the hill to the tomb with hands full of bags of spices, that they were so lifted up with hope that they just dropped everything and ran down the hill to the city….running, stumbling, laughing, crying.  That mixture of joy and grief, and hope that made no sense, yet made all sense.   

Back in the city, they told all these things to the 11 disciples and the others that were gathered.  But none believed them. 

Of course none believed them.   

They had watched him die.  They had carried his body to the Tomb.  They had watched as the stone was rolled to shut the door.  He was dead.  Dead and gone, and with him went the hope of the restoration of the Kingdom.   

In their grief the rest of the disciples could be forgiven for believing that these women, long time followers and disciples in their own right, were delusional.  Or caught up in the dreams of grief… 

You know the dreams of grief, which feel so real, where we talk with our relative or friend, and wake up in shock to realize it was just a dream, and the grief comes flooding back. 

But the women kept insisting until eventually that glimmer of hope rooted itself in Peter’s heart and he rose and ran to the tomb, where he found it empty except for the grave clothes.  He left the tomb and began to wonder what had happened and what it could mean.  The glimmer of hope grew. 

Before we move on to the other part of today’s Gospel Lesson, we need to acknowledge that the readings skipped over the account of the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and who eventually recognized him in the breaking of bread.  Those glimmers of hope they felt along the way, flooded their hearts with joy and they ran back to Jerusalem. 

Here, while telling the disciples about what happened and what Jesus said, Jesus himself appears in the locked room. 

 

Do you ever wonder why Jesus didn’t just appear to all of them like that from the beginning?  Surely he would have known they were grieving.  Surely he wanted them to know that he was alive and that he had a purpose for them.  Why the delays? 

Maybe it was because he knew no one would be willing to believe their eyes if he just appeared.  Even in this encounter they believed him to be a ghost.  

 

This is the kind of miracle for which we all would need some gentle preparation.  In the heaviest burden of grief, seeing our loved one appear before our eyes could be the shock that could end our own earthly life. 

Jesus needed the disciples to be thinking about and talking about the prophetic words he had given them about his return from death.  Jesus needed them to be talking about the encounters with angels who proclaimed him alive.  Jesus needed them to hear the account of him being known in the breaking of bread. 

Even with that knowledge, even with those glimmers of hope growing in their hearts at each rehashing of the accounts of his resurrection, when Jesus appeared in the locked room, they thought that he was a ghost, and they were afraid.   

 

Jesus knows all about their fear and uncertainty.  He knows how difficult it is to penetrate great grief.  We saw that in him prior to the resurrection of Lazarus, and he knew what was going to happen. 

So now with that grace that was so evident on the journey to Jerusalem Jesus assures them, allowing them to touch him, feel the nail scars and then…they believed.   

Well not so much. 

 

And while they still did not believe it because of the confusion of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”  Luke 24: 41 NIV 

This alone is such a profound acknowledgement of how the overwhelming depth of grief can make us doubt our senses.  The disciples were prepared for this news, they had heard the stories, they were already in the place where hope was growing.  And yet grief warred with hope, and it was hard for the disciples to believe their own eyes. 

Still, Jesus is nothing but grace.  What he does next in asking for food, has happened often in the times on the beach.  How many times had he asked them if they had any fish?   

They give him what they had, what he had previously asked for.  They gave him fish, and he took it and he ate it.   

If there was anything that Jesus was known for it was fish and bread.  Sometimes when we are in the midst of a great grief, or the pinnacle of huge joy; when our lives are overwhelmed it is the ordinary things of life that are of the most comfort. 

Bread and fish.  Casseroles, and desserts.  We all know that at the moments of grief, food is comforting.  And conversely at the moments of great joy food is celebratory.   

 

In this moment food was both a comfort and a celebration.  That simple action of sharing food together made it possible to let grief go and allow hope to blossom.   

The whole journey to Jerusalem had been filled with those threads of hope.  Hope that taught them they could move with intention and action. 

Hope that taught them they could live with faith that blossomed into acts of service. 

Hope that taught them the balance of rest and growth. 

Hope that moved them with the righteousness and the mercy of grace. 

Hope that moved them from the shouting of joy to the peaceful quietness of trust. 

Hope that taught them they could move from betrayal to discipleship. 

Hope is what transforms the messy middles of our lives, and makes our purpose as the people of God rich and powerful. 

 

Today as we end that journey we are reminded that hope is the power in our faith.  Hope opens our eyes to see what God is doing in our midst.  Hope moves us from the grief of unworthiness to the grace of being welcomed. 

Hope changes grief and hope makes all things possible. 

God embodies the hope that keeps our eyes on him and that makes our lives of faith possible. 

God, and the Holy Spirit are the agents of hope and power that will move these grief-stricken disciples to powerful witnesses to the grace and glory of God. 

 

It has been a long and arduous journey to Jerusalem, to the cross and the tomb.  Every step along the way God’s love, grace and mercy have prevailed. 

Jesus is risen from the dead, and death no longer has authority over any of us.  Our hope is firmly rooted in God’s promise and will never be uprooted. 

Praise and glory be given to God forever.  Amen 

 

Affirmation of Faith
In the dark before dawn, we believe that God is alive.  In the midst of our grief, we believe the Spirit is at work.  In the chaos of our broken world,  we believe that love is on the loose. For no stone could keep God at bay, and no violence could keep God’s love from us.
So today we sing, Alleluia!
For somewhere in between our belief and doubt, hope lives. Christ has died, and Christ has also risen. Thanks be to God! Amen. 

Hymn:  243 Jesus Christ is risen today

Offering and Doxology 830

Offertory Prayer 

Now we know:  all is grace all is gift. 

You give us all good things: life and love; daily bread and water that quenches our thirst; friends and faith. 

Everything that we have is held in your good keeping.  With joy and thanksgiving we return to you our gifts of love and praise.  Use them and use us to be your presence in the world.    

Now we know: all is grace  all is gift.  Call us to be a part of your gift to the world.  We give you thanks and praise.  Amen.   

 

 

Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession 

We have come to you this day in joy filled worship.  We have sought you and we have found you.  For this we are grateful.   

Most of all, in your Son, Jesus, you have found us with a love that will never let us go;  you uttered words of mercy and forgiveness that override the hurts, and heal our brokenness.  You have met us in our grief and brought us with joy to a place of new hope.  You offer new beginnings where we had expected only dead ends. 

We give you thanks and praise for the mystery of the suffering love of Jesus that gives us life.  We give you thanks and praise that you know our weakness and hear our prayers.  We give you thanks and praise that all our dying and living is held in your good keeping. 

We give you thanks that in confidence we can bring you all of our joys and all of our concerns; trusting that you will listen, and in listening hear our hearts. 

We bring you joy 

 

 

We bring you our concerns 

 

 

 

 

 

We bring you the world in need of prayer 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O God, who always listens to us, who breathes new life into us, please call us forward to resurrection.   Call us to follow in the footsteps of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, who taught us when we pray to say:  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 debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever.  Amen 

 

Hymn: 260 Alleluia, Alleluja, Give thanks

Benediction  

The God of the mountain, the valley, and every step in between, gives us this day as our fresh start.  May this day be for us the start of something new.  

He moves us from grief and lifts us with hope.    He calls  us to carry the love we experience here into the world, and to share it with all whom we encounter in the days ahead.  

Go into the world with the strength of God, the grace of Jesus and the joy of the Spirit.  Amen 

Blessing Song:  252 He is Lord v1

He is Lord, he is Lord,  he is risen from the dead and he is Lord.  Every knee shall bow
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord 

3-Fold Amen