Embrace Your Easter Hope!

3rd Sunday of Easter, 4/26/20
Luke 24:13-35


Embrace Your Easter Hope!
I. Hope for a disappointing future
II. Hope for a confused faith
III. Hope for a grieving heart


What are your hopes today, right now? Given the situation we’re living in, I’m guessing you have quite a list. Under “normal” conditions, you would be hoping for a good day, time spent with your family, continued good health. You know, the normal things of life.

But things aren’t normal right now, so, when I ask what you’re hoping for today, it’s probably just that—that things would return to normal as soon as possible. As you watch this recorded service, you hope that we’ll be able to gather as a congregation in worship soon. You’re hoping that you remain healthy, that the hundreds of thousands of your fellow Americans who are sick will become well. You’re hoping that our scientists and medical experts find a way to keep millions of us COVID-19 free. You’re hoping our economy opens again soon. And I’m sure you could add a few more things to that list. Those are the things we’re hoping for today.

But what will your hopes be six months from now? You really have no idea, do you? And here’s why. Think about it. Six months ago, it was it was the end of October. There were Halloween decorations in your neighborhood. You were already thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and the hopes that come along with them. At that time, COVID-19 wasn’t even a part of your vocabulary. But look how things have changed, and your hopes for the future along with it. So, for me to ask you what your hopes will be late this coming October is practically pointless.

Today’s worship theme is Hope Restored. There it is again—that word “hope.” So, what are we going to talk about for the next few minutes, just some wishes that we have about the next few hours? Because after that, our level of certainty regarding our lives and what we need to hope for drop off precipitously.

But we’re not simply talking about hope in general with today’s worship theme. We’re focusing on Easter hope. And Easter hope is unlike any other because Easter hope is certain. That’s what the resurrection of Jesus does for Christians, for you and for me. It fills us with confident hope. So, embrace it! Embrace your Easter hope! I pray that you will do that just as Jesus’ followers did on Easter as Luke relates it to us here in Luke 24.

I.

Last Thursday’s news was rather disappointing in several ways. According to a CBS news survey, if government restrictions were lifted, 87% of the respondents said they would not feel comfortable going to a large event, 85% would not feel comfortable riding in an airplane, and 71% said they wouldn’t feel comfortable going into a restaurant to eat. Meanwhile, the weekly unemployment figures were released. Nearly 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the last five weeks. How depressing! And things seemed to be going so well just two months ago.

These two followers of Jesus, one whose name was Cleopas, felt that very thing on Easter. Luke tells us that they were walking to the village of Emmaus. Bible scholars think that Emmaus was probably their hometown. It seems as if they were among the close followers of Jesus and had been in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Perhaps, they had joined the Palm Sunday crowds in welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem. And their hearts and minds were full of joyful expectations for Jesus.

But there was no joy in any of their hundreds of steps back to Emmaus. You can hear the dejection in their voices as they told Jesus, “Jesus of Nazareth…was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” We’re not sure what they had in mind with their concept of Jesus redeeming Israel. Was it purely spiritual, or, was it a mixture of a spiritual kingdom and an earthly kingdom? No matter, their hopes for Jesus were blown up when the Romans crucified him. He was dead. Gone. And so was his body. They were filled with disappointment.

Can you imagine how they felt? Maybe not. Then try thinking about it this way. If Jesus were still dead, imagine how different life would be for you right now. Well, you wouldn’t be watching this video, worshipping him right now. In fact, his name would likely mean absolutely nothing to you. You would know nothing about his forgiveness and the eternal life he has won for you, because they wouldn’t exist. And if there were such a thing as a Bible, you likely would know nothing about what’s in it.

But wait a minute! You know and believe that he died and rose again! And that changes everything. Because he rose from the dead, nothing can rob you of your forgiveness. Nothing can bar you from eternal life in heaven with him. Nothing can stop Jesus from ruling over all things for the good of his Church. Because he rose from the dead, Jesus ultimately wins, and you, by faith in him, win with him, forever!

That, my friends, is your Easter hope. Embrace it! It’s hope for a disappointing future.

The near future for everyone I know is not bright. We likely have months, and perhaps more than a year, of trouble ahead. Our fellow citizens are encouraging us that we’re all in this together and that things will get better. And I know what they mean. But that’s really not much comfort, is it? Because, as soon as this situation gets better, another tragedy will come along, another threat, another collapse. The Caterpillar Company’s bulldozer advertising in the 1960s stated, “There are no simple solutions, only intelligent choices.” Pretty pessimistic, isn’t it? But it’s the truth. What hope do we have? Easter hope. The Emmaus disciples would have agreed with that Caterpillar slogan as they trudged back to Emmaus. But the risen Jesus changed all that. The solution is Jesus. The solution to the disappointments of my life is the risen Jesus. The only life that counts for anything is life with Jesus. And you have it by faith in him. Embrace your Easter hope!

Part II.

Several times in the past two weeks I’ve heard and seen interviews with members of the National Guard who have been called up to help hospitals and food pantries. I’ve heard them say that this is what they have trained for, and so they’re glad to put that training into practice, to be able to do something to help their fellow Americans.

Jesus had given his followers training for the disaster that they would encounter in Jerusalem. He had told them plainly on several occasions that they were going to Jerusalem where he would be handed over to his enemies. They would crucify him, but he would rise from the dead on the third day.

Apparently, either these Emmaus disciples weren’t present when Jesus spoke about these things, or they were present but didn’t listen. They were unable to put their training into practice on this day of the Lord’s resurrection.

And so, Jesus chastised them. He said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” He then reminded them of what the Old Testament had prophesied about him—his sufferings, death and resurrection.

We know those prophecies and how Jesus fulfilled them, and we praise God for it. Our reaction to the dilemma of Emmaus disciples is, “They should have known!” Indeed, they should have. But their faith was confused. They confused what the Bible said about Jesus and what their hopes for him were.

Jesus came to them and gave them hope, Easter hope. He patiently corrected their thinking and their beliefs by sharing his word with them. In doing so, he instilled them with hope, Easter hope. And that’s hope for us to embrace, a hope for a confused faith.

Are you a little confused with what’s going on in your life, in our world? Do you ever wonder what this is all about? Do you question what God is allowing to happen in our world? Are there times when you think he doesn’t care? I know I do, and it’s because my faith is confused. Somehow, I think or believe that God should be doing something, when he never said that he would do anything like that. I have this foggy notion of what his word says, and it confuses my faith. How about you?

Let Jesus lead you on a walk though his word, just as he did with these Emmaus disciples. See how your God has been faithful to everything he ever promised you. Most of all, you have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Jesus by his death and resurrection. And he even forgives you for your doubts and misplaced faith. That’s Easter hope! Embrace it!

Part III.

So, the Emmaus disciples, having witnessed the risen Jesus, are filled with Easter hope and they hurried back to Jerusalem that evening to share that hope with the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered that Easter evening.

And it’s a good thing they did. Because those followers weren’t gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate his resurrection; they were huddled in fear, thinking he was still dead. They were grieving.

And, as these two men were recounting how they had talked and eaten with the risen Jesus, he appeared to them in the flesh, alive. And that made all the difference in the world. They grieved no more. Jesus was alive! That’s Easter hope—hope for hearts that are grieving.

Death is the grimmest reality of life. That’s one of the reasons people are so unsettled during this pandemic. They’re reminded of death daily. And when a loved one dies, it really hits hard. But Easter hope changes all that. Jesus promised that whoever lives and believes in him will never die. We live, even though we die. We live with him and we await the resurrection in glory on the Last Day. No matter how grim life gets, nothing can change that. That’s Easter hope. The hope that fills your heart by faith in Jesus. Embrace it! Amen.