Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
This Sunday is
the Third Sunday of the Easter Season, there will be seven Sundays, total
through the season counting Easter Sunday. The first three Sundays of Easter
focus our attention on the events of the day that Jesus rose. You might notice
that this reading is very similar to last week’s reading from John 20. It is
recording different aspects of the same event. The idea here is to give a full
picture of the events related to Jesus’ resurrection.
So let’s take a
look at the Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday. It is from …
The Reading: (Lk. 24:36-49
ESV)
As they were talking about these
things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to
you!" 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they
saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled,
and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and
bones as you see that I have." 40 And when he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still
disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you
anything here to eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of broiled
fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
44
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was
still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened
their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them,
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day
rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of
sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am
sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are
clothed with power from on high."
Comments
I always love
when a reading begins with a phrase like, “As they were talking about these
things….” What things? This is one of the reasons that it is important for us
to open our Bibles and read these readings for ourselves. So if we looked at
Luke 24, we would find that Jesus had appeared to two other disciples earlier
in the day: two who were not part of the twelve disciples. So these two men
were students and followers of Jesus, and Jesus appeared to them as they walked
to a town called Emmaus. (You can read about this in Luke 24:13-35.) The very
short version of this account is that when the disciples realized that they
were with Jesus, He disappeared, and they ran all the way back to Jerusalem to
report to what remained of the twelve that they had seen Jesus risen from the
dead. That is what they were talking about when Jesus appeared among them.
Just like last
week, Jesus begins by greeting the disciples by bidding them peace. John
focused on Jesus giving the disciples the Holy Spirit and authority to forgive
and retain sins. Luke focuses us on showing that Jesus was physically raised.
Notice that Jesus urges the disciples to look at Him, to touch Him, and even to
give Him food. Over the centuries there have been many who have argued that
Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead, and that what the disciples saw was
Jesus’ spirit. To this Jesus says through Luke’s pen, “A spirit does not have
flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
This account also
focuses on the preaching ministry with which Jesus charged the disciples. He
takes them to His words to remind them what He said, and He brings forward the
Law, the Prophets and the Psalms as testimony of the fact that He was supposed
to suffer, die, and rise again. And now the disciples were charged with
preaching repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name. He reminds them, “You are
witnesses of these things.” They are to testify that Jesus had fulfilled God’s
Word.
As you go through
your day, meditate on Jesus’ message that His suffering and death are tied to
repentance and forgiveness. Use today as an opportunity to repent – that is to
turn away from sin, even confessing it and asking for forgiveness – and then
trust that Jesus’ forgiveness is yours.
Prayers
For our prayer
today we’ll use the collect that we’ll be using in worship this Sunday at
Gloria Dei. This prayer is from Creative Worship.
O God, through
the resurrection of Your Son, You began the restoration of all things. Enliven
Your people with the joy of repentance that is ours as Your beloved children;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Memory Verse: 1 John 3:1 - See what kind of love the Father
has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The
reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 Jn. 3:1
ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
Would you do me a
favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help
me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to
others.
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God bless you!
Comments