26th April 2020 – Service.

Call to Worship

As you walk with us, as we journey together,
Lord, your word fills our hearts!
As you speak with us, as your love is revealed,
Lord, your fire burns in our hearts!
As we proclaim what we have seen and heard,
may all people be drawn to you, the risen Lord!

Collect for today:
God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayer of Adoration and Confession
God of heaven and earth,
we rejoice in the hope revealed in the light of Easter.
In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
we see beyond all doubt that nothing exists outside your saving power.
You work within our brokenness, our limitations, and our loss to bring new life.
You have overcome even death, promising us and all creation the power of your transforming love and bringing us the gift of new a beginning.
God of resurrection power, it is in the glory of Easter light
that we worship you today.
In that light, we dare to believe, to trust, to risk and to pray
in the name of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

God of majesty and mercy, even as we offer you our praise,
we confess we often find ourselves in darkness rather than in the revealing light of the Gospel.
We forget that in Jesus we have a new beginning and persist in our old habits and fruitless ways of being. We react predictably to other people and circumstances and fail to live up to our calling to be a new creation in Jesus Christ. Remind us that you are our loving, accepting and forgiving Father and that the power of Christ our brother is ours to draw upon
Hear us now as we confess in silence those times we have failed to live by the light you have revealed in His resurrection.
(Silence for 10 seconds)

Assurance of Pardon

Father, we know that in Christ, we have been born anew, that we are forgiven and that we are set free by your redeeming love. Help us to be at peace with you, with ourselves and with one another as we ourselves forgive, set free and bless with the same love we have received.

Prayer for Understanding

God of the Living Word, you come to us in sacred story, in bread broken and wine poured out, in friendship and in conversation. Send us your Holy Spirit as we read your Word. Make it alive to our minds and hearts and may our hearts burn within us as we encounter your truth, through Christ, our Risen Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer (in the words most familiar to you)

The Readings

Psalm 116:1-4;12-19

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
‘Lord, save me!’

12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.

16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord –
in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

Luke 24:13-35

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognising him.

17 He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’

19 ‘What things?’ he asked.

‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.’

25 He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further. 29 But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.

30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread.

1 Peter 1:17-23

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Amen

Sermon

Luke 24: 13-25

One of the joys of living in the country in Eastern Australia was the great variety of colourful birds in our garden. We were privileged to see birds which ardent birdwatchers long to see once in a lifetime. Gang-gangs, Black Cockatoos, Kookaburras, Koels, Bellbirds, Lyrebirds, Bower Birds and colourful Lorikeets were all quite common.

My favourites were the little Spotted Pardalotes. These birds had long burrows in the bank along our driveway. We could hear them cheeping whilst they were out of sight

Suddenly one would launch out of the burrow and like a sparkle of diamonds would disappear into the sky.

It was hard to catch more than a quick glimpse of them. Someone commented: “it sounds a bit like God, doesn’t it?”

There is an old prayer from Northern England: “Lord. T’ou art lik a wee moosie peepin oot a ‘ole in t’ wall. T’ou see’st us, but we canna see T’ee.”

God is not a publicity seeker. He is not noted for keeping a high public profile.

More than that. There are in life grey days where God and his Christ seem totally absent. Especially in times of disaster and grief when we most long for a sign from the Lord that we are loved and cared for. From the standpoint of our feelings, dark times can feel the most god-empty times. This remains a hard puzzle, that when we believe we need God the most, God may seem furthest away.

Like it was on the road to Emmaus.

On the Sunday afternoon following the Friday crucifixion of Jesus, two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus: a journey of about seven miles. Luke tells us that one of these travellers was a man named Cleopas. The other person is unnamed. Many have suggested it was his wife Mary. For now, we can run with that. It seems likely that their home was in village to which they were heading. Their hearts were sore, and their faith in tatters, after the horror that had fallen on their beloved Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth on the previous Friday. For them it had seemed the ultimate god-empty event in time.

Still, there was now a small flickering of hope. Some of the women who had visited the tomb that Sunday morning, had returned to the disciples claiming that the tomb was empty, and that Jesus had risen.

With this unlikely story, tiny seeds of hope in Cleopas and Mary began to stir and push against the shell of their despair. But it remained a most unlikely event. Those stirrings were likely to soon subside under the light of reason. Resurrection? It was not likely. Let those poor bereft women comfort themselves with such imaginings if they so wished. But these two travellers had to keep their minds on reality. Get back home and get on with the business of living without the delight of having Jesus around.

Yet, what if……….? If? Yes, if the unlikely story was true? It was not impossible. Many Jews believed that at some future time (“at the end of days”) God would break into this world with a new Messianic age. On that long-awaited day, the dead would rise from their graves. If the resurrection of their Master had in truth taken place, then that great, new, glorious age of God had begun. The new age had broken free from the bondage of evil and death.

So it was that in the bruised mind and heart of these two disciples walking to Emmaus, grief struggled with hope, and doubt sparred with faith.

As they talked together about their crushed expectations and the few tendrils of hope that had emerged that morning, they were joined by a stranger. They did not recognise him at all. This stranger asked them about the earnest conversation they appeared to be having as he overtook them on the road.

Fortunately for them, they did not tell him to mind his own business. Instead they poured out their hearts to him. He listened to every word, and maybe to some things in their hearts that were left unsaid.

Gently he admonished them for their doubt. With great insight the stranger spoke to them about certain passages from the Holy Scriptures from Moses to Isaiah and helped them to see that the Messiah was bound to suffer as Jesus had. And that it was through such suffering that the Messiah would display his true power and glory.

Notice that these good people knew their scriptures, were familiar with the prophets and so were open to what the stranger was teaching them

As he taught them, ideas in their minds stared clicking into place, and their hearts warmed with renewed longing and hope. There was something different about this stranger.

Time passed quickly as he chatted with them. Before they knew it, they had arrived at their home in Emmaus. As darkness was falling the couple invited the stranger to stay overnight with them.

Notice that they were hospitable. They knew the Law of Moses as well and, as the writer to the Hebrews later noted, such hospitality meant that they were about to entertain not just angels unaware!

Later that evening, when they gathered around the table for the evening meal, the stranger took the bread, said the prayer of blessing, “Blessed are you, Lord God of the universe, who from the ground brings forth our daily bread.” He then broke the bread and gave it to them.

It was then that the strange became the strangest! It was as if a curtain fell from their eyes and they recognised their risen Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread in the communion of fellowship during an ordinary meal.

In that same moment Jesus just …. sort of…. disappeared? Leaving them glowing with renewed faith and love. Cleopas and Mary were so excited that they left the house and hurried back through the night to Jerusalem to share the good news with the other disciples.

We are not expected to understand these mysterious Easter stories. Jesus just comes and goes. No doors are needed. He is sometimes immediately recognised. Other times not.

These gospel records confound our understanding. They leave us gasping and reaching for explanations.

In fact, if we were not mystified by the nature of these Easter events, then we would be justified in having suspicions that we may have fallen into a fairy story.

Easter heralds the greatest mystery of all mysteries. The disciples witnessed an astounding event which they could never explain yet which they knew was more real than the solid, locked doors behind which they had been hiding. More real than the road on the way to Emmaus. More real than the cross and the tomb. More real than all Rome’s legions. Christ was risen indeed.

We won’t attempt to explain the resurrection. There are many mysteries in our universe, the mystery of life and death, why we are here, what it means. What is beyond this life is still a matter of faith. That may never change while we live in this reality. But the reality of Easter changed the perception of Jesus’ first disciples that they changed dramatically and lived new and powerful lives. There is no need to try to plumb what has proved too deep for even the most profound minds among the greatest Christian thinkers for two thousand years. This sermon has a much more modest aim, on which I will now focus.

We come back to where we started: To the apparent absence of God at those times when we have desperately wanted a God to comfort or clearly direct us. The God who is like the elusive Spotted Pardalote in the bank along our driveway in Bowen Mountain, or the God in the old prayer from Northern England.

Where is God? On the road to the village of Emmaus the answer became clear. The Lord had been with them on the road, but they had not realised it. Besides that, he would always be with them on the road. With them when a stranger walked beside them and renewed their faith. With them even when they thought they walked alone. With them at table; with them in the breaking of the bread. With them as they hurried back to the locked room in Jerusalem where other disciples had retreated. With them a week later when Thomas was present. With them on the shores of Galilee serving them barbecued fish for breakfast. With them to the end of the world.

There is no such thing as a Christ-empty day. No such thing as a God-empty situation. The God of Jesus was there on the cross. There in the sealed tomb. There in the garden on the Sunday morning. There on each road that a person travels: from Jerusalem to Emmaus, from Inverkeithing to Timbukt0o from North Queensferry to Sydney from Dunfermline to New York.

Our feelings change but the promise endures. We know that to “trust and obey” the living Christ, incognito amongst us, is the source of abundant life. Christ is risen indeed! We cannot depend on our emotions. Not even on our better intuitions, for they can be compromised. But God’s promises in Christ Jesus stand forever.

As our world is changing dramatically, we may not feel as secure as we have in the past. As we are threatened by climate change and deadly viruses, we are reminded that our expectations of this life are not guaranteed and that we are staring at eternity every day we live. But pessimism (sadly current in some circles) is not a way of life that is compatible with the way of the living Christ. He speaks of life that is eternal, and that should be within the compass of our vision. That takes faith. And pessimism’s allies, delusion and cynicism, are faith’s direct enemy.

Here is a poem which sums up faith:

The Right Must Win

OH, it is hard to work for God,
To rise and take his part
Upon this battlefield of earth,
And not sometimes lose heart!

He hides himself so wondrously,
As though there were no God;
He is least seen when all the powers
Of ill are most abroad.

Or he deserts us at the hour
The fight is all but lost;
And seems to leave us to ourselves
Just when we need him most.

Ill masters good; good seems to change
To ill with greatest ease.
And, worst of all, the good with good
Is at cross-purposes.

Ah! God is other than we think.
His ways are far above,
Far beyond reason’s height, and reached
Only by childlike love.

Workman of God! Oh, lose not heart,
But learn what God is like.
And in the darkest battlefield
Thou shalt know where to strike.

Thrice blessèd is he to whom is given
The instinct that can tell
That God is on the field when he
Is most invisible.

Blessed, too, is he who can divine
Where real right doth lie,
And dares to take the side that seems
Wrong to man’s blindfold eye.

For right is right, since God is God;
And right the day must win;
To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin.

Frederick William Faber (1814–6

Are we committed to the Easter good news?
Easter demands a decision: to follow the risen Christ or not. It may seem easy to believe at times, but on other days it can be tough.

To trust when there is no apparent flame in the heart, to love when it is difficult to love the prickly neighbour, to pray when God seems to have hands over his ears, takes commitment.

To smile when we are in distress, to laugh when death wags its ugly finger at us, and to reach one’s hand into the darkness trusting (though we do not feel him) the risen Christ is with us all the way from here to eternity, that is what characterises Christ’s true friends.

Such is the Easter Way, the course on which we are set. And if we are not, then we among all people are to be most pitied. Amen.

Our Offering

Our lives overflow with blessing and goodness, gifts which come from God. Out of the wealth of our lives, let us present to God our gifts and offerings with generous thankfulness.

Prayer of Dedication

Generous God, you bless us with life, purpose, and opportunities to serve in the world you love. We offer you our gifts in Christ’s name, not seeking greater gain, but desiring to enrich life around with your love. Amen.

Prayers of thanksgiving and intercession

God our Maker,
You have walked the Emmaus Road with your faithful people in many generations,
people with uncertainty, facing challenges, people looking to you for purpose and holding on to eternal promises in Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your faithfulness to us in every situation.
Walk beside us and beside those for whom we pray for today,
that your grace and mercy may sustain faith and hope.
God in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for children and young people who are thinking about their future in uncertain times, as their education is disrupted, and their lives limited by our social restriction.
Give them hope which is rooted in the knowledge that their lives matter to you.
Show them how they may make a difference in the world, no matter the threats and challenges they face as they grow.
God in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for people for whom age or experience, illness, or disability
create barriers to their full participation in life
Give each one a sense of dignity and purpose. Show them where their gifts are needed and how much they matter to you. Give holy purpose to those who lack it.
God in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for communities challenged by forces beyond their control:
the pandemic, the economic crisis it is creating, environmental collapse, natural disaster, political strife.
Give courage to people facing crises every day. The need to earn a living, the need to make responsible decisions, the courage to face the fear of infection and to keep working and serving in the face of the threat.
Give wisdom to those whose job lead us through the difficult day
that the wellbeing of our human society may be restored and hope for the future prevail. Give patience to each of us as we wait with faith and hope for this to pass.
God in your mercy, hear our prayers.

We pray for our congregation, for our life together and our future in mission.
At a time when we cannot gather in person, preserve our fellowship and strengthen our prayers for one another that you will find us faithful on our journey into that future.
And we pray for the wellbeing of those lives linked to ours who bring us both joy and heartache because they matter so much to us and to you… We pray especially for those who await your call to yourself, loving families who hold them before you and all who grieve the loss of someone dear to them today.
God in your mercy, hear our prayers.

God our Maker, hear our prayers, spoken and unspoken, and use us in ways we may not yet imagine, to respond to those around us with grace and the love and mercy we see in Jesus Christ. In His Holy Name hear our prayers. Amen.

Sending out and Benediction

Today we have walked and talked along the Emmaus road. We walk and talk each week with Christ by our side. Let Him walk with you this week, let Him speak to you and allow him to open the door of your heart, so that you too meet the extraordinary in the ordinary. May you know God’s hope, Christ’s love and the Holy Spirit’s energy this week and always

Hymns

Here are some hymn suggestions to check on YouTube if you wish to sing along. Some may not be as familiar as their titles suggest:

All things bright and beautiful

The Church’s one foundation

My faith looks up to Thee

How can I keep from singing

I can see (The Emmaus Road)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

All will be well

Through the love of God our Saviour

Down in the river

 

For Children

One day Mrs Alston and I were attending a service in the ruins of the Augustinian Abbey on Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth. After the service I was standing next to a gentleman looking out over the river. He seemed awfully familiar to me and I found myself wondering how I knew him; his voice was familiar. I think he thought the same thing. When I asked his name, I remembered that he was someone whom I had known many, many years before. We did not recognise each other at first, but he remembered my wife’s name the instant I gave mine. Sometimes we do not always recognise even friends when we meet them after a long time

Our Bible lesson today tells an amazing story about a day when someone important walked and talked with some men on the Road to Emmaus, but they didn’t even recognize Him. Let’s see what that might have been like for the men on the Road to Emmaus.

Imagine being blindfolded and being asked to recognise someone only by their voice. I once paid a visit after nearly fifteen years to my former congregation in Prince Edward Island. During the first prayer I entered the church and took over the prayer halfway through when people had their eyes closed and their heads down. Most of the congregation recognised my voice straight away and looked up in surprise.

How good are you at recognising voices, especially of people you have not seen for a while?

Here’s what the special man said to them: “Do you find it so difficult to believe what was written by the prophets in the Scripture? It was predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His time of glory.” Do you have any guesses of who they were talking to on the road that day?

If you’ve heard this story before, you know that the men were talking to Jesus even though they didn’t realize it. For some of you, it would be easy to guess a person’s voice, but for others it might be difficult.

These men on the road had just been through a hard time. They knew Jesus had been crucified so He would not have been their first guess of whom they were talking to on the road. Jesus had to open their eyes to see it was Him.

God invites us to hear and recognise Jesus’ voice through our prayers and our worship. When you love and serve Jesus for a long time, you will not easily forget his voice.

God, thank you that Jesus died for our sins. Not only did He die, but He defeated death and rose again. Thank You that Jesus is alive and working in the world today. Open our eyes because we want to see Jesus! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

The Road to Emmaus

 

A Prayer in a Time of Distress

Almighty and everlasting God, you are strength to those who suffer and comfort to those who grieve. Let the prayers of your children who are in trouble rise to you. Hear our prayer. We claim your promises of wholeness as we pray for those who are ill or are suffering loss and long for your healing touch. Hear our prayer. Make the weak strong, the sick healthy, the broken whole, and confirm those who serve them as agents of your love. Hear our prayer. To everyone in distress, grant mercy, grant relief, grant refreshment. Hear our prayer. When we begin to rebuild, we commend our neighbourhoods to your care. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create a community where your will may be done. Hear our prayer. God of compassion, you watch our ways, and weave out of terrible happenings wonders of goodness and grace. Hear our prayer. Surround those who have been shaken by tragedy with a sense of your present love and hold them in faith. Though they are lost in grief, may they find you and be comforted; Through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives and rules this world with you. Amen

Intimations

I am sorry to intimate the passing of our member, Mrs Helen Leighton, latterly of Friary Court Inverkeithing. Her private funeral will take place at Dunfermline Crematorium Monday 27th April. Please remember John and Muriel and their family in Norway. They have asked me to intimate that she did not suffer from Covid-19.

I am also saddened to intimate that Mrs Greta Dyce died on Thursday 23rd April . Please pray for her sons and their families. The funeral arrangements have not yet been finalised.

Life and work
During this challenging period, Life and Work is committed to helping keep our Christian community connected and so we have made the May 2020 issue freely available on our website. This can be accessed by clicking here or visiting

https://www.lifeandwork.org/resources/free-download-may-2020