Opening Prayer

Easter is not an event that has occurred, it is an adventure that has begun. Not a place that we have visited, but a path on which we stand.

The Resurrection story is not complete, but unfolding. Characters still breathing, stations still teeming with the promise of new life, not just for you and me but for all people, in all places

Risen Christ, walk with us on this journey. Be our companion and guide, be our teacher and friend, be our host and servant bringing your gifts of faith, peace and hope and deep joy as always. Amen.

Children’s Time

On the road to Emmaus

Confession & Words of Assurance

 

Christ Jesus,

Sometimes we are so busy talking with each other that we fail to find You beside us. We walk on, so focussed on our questions that we do not create the silent spaces which would allow You to speak with us and enlighten our journeying.

As we look at our lives and that of the world around us, we are sometimes too anxious to share our real questions or our doubts and fears. We keep them within us in troubled silence. At other times we think we have all the answers and don’t take the time to listen to the voices journeying with us.

Help us choose the right road to walk with You. Help us listen to what You have to tell us through the voices of others. And help us be Your voice to others who might not know Your presence.

Jesus Christ never leaves us nor forsakes us. Let us open our hearts to receive the grace  which Christ brings to us in faithfulness. We are forgiven! Thanks be to God. Amen.

Scripture

 

jesus appears to two disciples

Luke 24:¹³ That same day two of Jesus’ disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ As they were talking and thinking about what had happened, ¹⁵ Jesus came near and started walking along beside them. ¹⁶ But they did not know who he was.

¹⁷ Jesus asked them, “What were you talking about as you walked along?”

The two of them stood there looking sad and gloomy. ¹⁸ Then the one named Cleopas asked Jesus, “Are you the only person from Jerusalem who didn’t know what was happening there these last few days?”

¹⁹ “What do you mean?” Jesus asked.

They answered:

Those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth. By what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet, who pleased God and all the people. ²⁰ Then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross. ²¹ We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since all this happened.

²² Some women in our group surprised us. They had gone to the tomb early in the morning, ²³ but did not find the body of Jesus. They came back, saying that they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. ²⁴ Some men from our group went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they didn’t see Jesus either.

²⁵ Then Jesus asked the two disciples, “Why can’t you understand? How can you be so slow to believe all that the prophets said? ²⁶ Didn’t you know that the Messiah would have to suffer before he was given his glory?” ²⁷ Jesus then explained everything written about himself in the Scriptures, beginning with the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets.

²⁸ When the two of them came near the village where they were going, Jesus seemed to be going farther. ²⁹ They begged him, “Stay with us! It’s already late, and the sun is going down.” So Jesus went into the house to stay with them.

³⁰ After Jesus sat down to eat, he took some bread. He blessed it and broke it. Then he gave it to them. ³¹ At once they knew who he was, but he disappeared. ³² They said to each other, “When he talked with us along the road and explained the Scriptures to us, didn’t it warm our hearts?” ³³ So they got right up and returned to Jerusalem.

The two disciples found the eleven apostles and the others gathered together. ³⁴ And they learned from the group that the Lord was really alive and had appeared to Peter. ³⁵ Then the disciples from Emmaus told what happened on the road and how they knew he was the Lord when he broke the bread.

 

Sermon

 

Prayers of the People

 

(Please add your prayers aloud and in the comment Our faith in humanity mirrors our faith in You.section below)

Dearest Jesus, You come to us in unexpected places, in a crowded room, in a journey on a dusty road, in conversation, in the stillness. You come in the midst of our doubt, our fear, our sorrow. You come in the power of the resurrection. No pain and suffering is unknown to you.

You bring us peace and we pray for the places where they don’t know Your peace. Countries torn by war, refugees seeking homes, prisoners facing torture.

This Sunday we pray for the lives lost and the hearts broken in Nova Scotia. Some tragedies hit closer to home than we would want, but we know You are in the middle of all our pain, carrying our burdens, reminding us that in the end we will always be together surrounded by love.

We pray for other families and loses, particularly those who are dealing with the reality of Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands of families around Your world are mourning the loses, remembering the person who once walked among us. We see such large numbers and after a while they are only statistics and we have to remind ourselves that each number collected is another person who mattered and was loved.

Walk with us on our journeys even when we don’t recognize You are with us. Help us feel that burn in our hearts of Your presence.

We pray for our community, our leaders, our loved ones, and ourselves. We offer their names out loud…

Gathering all these prayers into one, we offer the prayer tradition has taught us:

Our Father, who art in heave, hallowed be Thy name. Your kingdom come, Your 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. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Benediction & Commission

 

As you stay in your space

Meet us, Lord, on the road to Emmaus,
Guide us on the path toward our destination,
and renew our strength as we continue to walk
and commune with You.

Open our eyes, so we see the signs of your presence around us.

Open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love.

And empower us to pass on to others
the grace you have shared with us so freely. Amen