Easter 3-April 25-26, 2020
Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! This past week we have seen the celebration of Earth Day and Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as the beginning of Ramadan, a very holy month for our Muslim brothers and sisters. We have also received word from the Governor that parks and beaches are opening, heralding the beginning of some lifting of restrictions. Earth day was particularly lovely this year because even though there is illness which is requiring physical distancing, it has given our earth a chance to heal from the pollution foisted upon it by humanity. Air is cleaner. Water is cleaner. Land is cleaner. Animals are emerging-Yosemite Park has more bears than ever. The canals of Venice, Italy are seeing dolphin and jellyfish. The air over many cities is clear for the first time in forever, it seems. So while this physical distancing is difficult for so many, not only is it helping us remain healthy, but God’s good creation is being healed and restored in a way that it hasn’t been in a very long time. For this, we are grateful! Yom HaShoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day-a day we remember the crimes against humanity during the 1930’s and 1940’s, particularly against our Jewish brothers and sisters. Yom HaShoah is a date we remember each year as a chance to reflect and pray for all who suffered at that time and to work ever harder so that by remembering, we may never repeat those atrocities. We give thanks for our own Cesar Frustaci who works tirelessly to share his story and the story of his mother as a means to educate and enlighten so that we may never forget. We give thanks for all who work for social justice, for equality, for compassion and love, who do God’s work with their hands to make this world a better place for all who live in it.
Ramadan for our Muslim brothers and sisters is a month, April 23-May 23, focusing on prayer and reading the Quran and doing works of justice and kindness. Our Muslim brothers and sisters practice fasting from early morning until sundown each day as a sign of this devotion. This month of dedication and spiritual growth is intended for Muslims to grow in their relationship with God. As I learn about Ramadan, I am struck by the similarities it holds to our own Lenten season. We pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters and pray for all the faithful of the world who are practicing their faith and devotion for God while maintaining physical distancing for the safety and benefit of all.
My dear Hope family, I am prayerful that we might return to parking lot worship next weekend. With parks and beaches opening, it seems that parking lot worship is also a safe choice. I will continue to provide resources for those who remain in their homes, but those who feel comfortable are invited to join us on Saturday at 5:30pm and Sunday at 10am for worship. Bulletins and wafers for Holy Communion will be handed out by gloved hands and contained in plastic bags.
No offering plates will be shared-we ask that you all remain generous as you mail in offerings to Hope.
Give thanks on this third weekend of the Easter season. God is with us. God is in charge. And God is walking with us through these strange and compelling days. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! I love you and I pray for each of you! Pr. Jen+
SEASON OF EASTER WORSHIP -THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER APRIL 25-26, 2020
You may have a bowl and a pitcher or glass filled with water to pour to remember the flowing and forgiving waters of Baptism.
THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are raised with him to new life. We join in thanks for the gift of baptism. Water may be poured into the bowl. We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning you created us in your image and planted us in a well-watered garden. In the desert you promised pools of water for the parched, and you gave us water from the rock. When we did not know the way, you sent the Good Shepherd to lead us to still waters. At the cross, you watered us from Jesus’ wounded side, and on this day, you shower us again with the water of life. We praise you for your salvation through water, for the water in this font, and for all water everywhere. Bathe us in your forgiveness, grace, and love. Satisfy the thirsty, and give us the life only you can give. To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
**You may make the sign of the cross with this water or wash your hands to remember your Baptism and your call to life in Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY: O God, your Son makes himself known to all his disciples in the breaking of bread. Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
GOSPEL: Luke 24:13-35 The colorful story of Jesus’ appearance to two disciples on the road to Emmaus answers the question of how Jesus is to be recognized among us. Here, he is revealed through the scriptures and in the breaking of bread. 13 Now on that same day [when Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene, two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
HOMILY: Back in January 2011, our country was reeling from the Tucson shooting that had targeted Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and left six people dead. President Obama faced the difficult task of putting a country’s grief into words as he spoke at a memorial service the week after the shooting. As thousands gathered to mourn and pray, the president gave an update on the status of Congresswoman Giffords, who was clinging to life at a nearby hospital. He shared that for the first time since the shooting she had opened her eyes. The crowd cheered, relief after days of grief at having even some small good news to celebrate. While the cheers went on and on, the president repeated his report three times: “Gabby opened her eyes for the first time” he said. “Gabby opened her eyes. Gabby opened her eyes.”
~~~It wasn’t just the movement of eyelids he was talking about. It wasn’t the news that some of her muscles worked that made the crowd go crazy. It was the news that she was awake to the world around her, that–even though the road to recovery lay long and rocky before her–she had stepped out of the darkness that had surrounded her for so many days and had blinked her eyes in the light. She had been hovering there in that dark place between death and life, and here was this very visible, very tangible sign that life had won. No wonder the cheers went on so long. Life had won.
~~~ The 23rd chapter of Luke, the chapter just before our Gospel, ends in full darkness, with the death of the one they thought would save them, the tomb closed up, the quiet Sabbath surrounding those who dressed his body. Hope was lost in death-filled darkness. Then Chapter 24 begins with just a glimmer of hope as the morning sun rises over the empty tomb. The chapter falls neatly into three sections. It starts with that Easter morning story of the empty tomb and the men in dazzling clothes who send the women away with the news. The chapter ends out in Bethany, with a blessing from Jesus as he is carried up from earth to heaven.
~~~But here in the middle is the story of these two travelers who set out for Emmaus. Luke doesn’t tell us why they’re going, what their agenda is, why they’ve left Jerusalem. Maybe they’ve left in fear, maybe in despair, maybe because they don’t know what to do now that everything has changed. On the road they meet this stranger, and I can’t help but wonder if he seems even a little familiar to them, like maybe they’ve met him somewhere before but can’t quite place it as they walk along. So the three of them talk as they walk, and the two travelers don’t seem to understand what has happened, and the stranger tries to tell them. But before they know it, they have arrived where they are going. It is late, so they invite him to come in and eat with them and he accepts, though it turns out that he may have been the one doing the inviting all along.
~~~Surely, when they sit down to eat, it starts to come back to them, where they had met this stranger before. Surely, they start to remember other meals they’ve shared together–that bread-and-fish picnic when the 5000 were fed or that last supper in an upstairs room just days before, when they gathered, frightened, when he spoke of things they did not understand and did not want to hear, when he passed the cup and broke the bread. Surely, it starts to come back to them.
~~~It’s the breaking of the bread that does it. It’s when he breaks the bread that they finally remember where they have met this man before. It’s when he breaks the bread, when the loaf of bread is torn and the crumbs fall to the table—it’s then that their eyes are finally opened and they can see what’s really happening. It’s when he breaks the bread that they are brought back from the shadows of death and they realize that life has won.
~~~It seems to me that the church lives here in the middle of this chapter–between the abandoned linens of the empty tomb and the ascension to heaven. I know we celebrate the birthday of the church on the fiery festival of Pentecost; but I think the church is born here, broken open here with the breaking of the bread. We weren’t there that morning. We didn’t see the rolled-away stone or hear the women tell the story. And the great mystery of heaven lies far off–in comprehension, at least, if not in time. So here we are, in the middle. That’s where the church lives–gathered around the table, telling old, old stories, sharing the feast. It’s in the scriptures and the table that the story breaks open for us, and we realize again that life has won.
~~~Sometimes, though, if we are honest, that breaking open means not just rejoicing in the triumph of life, but also opening our eyes to the broken places in our world. It occurs to me that when Gabby Giffords opened her eyes on that January day in Arizona, she wasn’t just coming back to life. She was also opening her eyes to the terrible truth that while she had come back from the precipice of life and death and opened her eyes into the light, others had not.
~~~Living with eyes opened means recognizing that this place we live in, here in this middle time between the empty tomb and the rise to heaven, is a place that is sometimes as filled with pain and grief as it is with life and love. During this time in our world where the virus is claiming countless lives and we still await adequate testing and anxiously hope for a cure or vaccine, we know all too well the pain and grief that death brings even though we celebrate the joy of new life at Easter. In the midst of knowing and loving others around who deal with fear and financial worry and pain and illness and death, we celebrate the joy and mystery of new life at Easter.
~~~ So maybe the church becomes the place where those truths are broken open, too. With eyes open, we can see that there is too much injustice in the world, too much pain, too much that is broken. With eyes open, we can see that there are too many hungry, too many left out in the cold, too many strangers still not welcome at the table. And maybe the church at its best lives in the midst of those hard truths, challenging the powers that threaten to pull us into darkness, and as the Body of Christ in the world, we can share little glimpses of the light.
~~~Maybe, as we are now fasting from sharing in the Eucharist and await the day where we can once again safely gather to share the Holy Meal of Jesus’ Body and Blood, maybe now more than ever, we can more fully appreciate how WE are Christ’s Body for the world, Maybe as the people of God, we can open our eyes to see more ways to share kindness and love, acceptance and peace with one another. We can’t shake hands, but we can share hearts of love and compassion. We can’t share the Bread that become for us the Body of Christ given for us, but we can BE the Body of Christ in the world as we share a smile or laugh, thank the folks who keep our society running, praise the medical professionals who are seeking ways to care for the ill and protect those who are well, offer food dropped at the church for the homeless and hungry whose needs are even greater now, pray more fervently for all those in need and do what we can to encourage, support, remain positive, and love those who are suffering in body, mind, or spirit. We can open our eyes to see these things during this time of sheltering in place, and we can BE Christ to one another as our Baptism calls us.
~~~That’s what church should be–a place where life breaks open and joy abounds. When we do it right, that’s what church looks like, We will get back to the time when we can physically be together-sharing meals around potluck tables, crying together at the funeral of a friend, lifting prayers in weekly worship, telling and re-telling the stories of scripture, working for justice, serving together in community and world, suggesting, sometimes loudly, sometimes gently, that maybe there might be another way to live. But even now in the midst of the sheltering in place, we can seek and find ways to be Christ to one another-opening our eyes as we remember his Body given for us on the cross so that we might, broken as we are, BE his Body for the sake of the world.
~~~That’s where the church lives, I believe, in this world that is far too broken. As people called in Baptism to be led by the Spirit to serve God and Share Christ’s love with all, we can offer little glimpses where grace breaks open and we can see that life just might win again. And it will. Because we know, without a doubt, that Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!!!
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION: Praying in our homes while gathered together in the Spirit of Christ, we ask God to bestow peace upon a needy world. A brief silence.
Come to the church, so burdened by heartache. Give us faith to know your loving presence among us. Open the scriptures to us, and nourish us with the bread of your word. Direct our clergy and church leaders in their new and difficult tasks. Bind into one all denominations around the globe in hope for the renewal of all things, and uphold the work of the World Council of Churches. O God our merciful Savior, give ear to us. Come to the earth. Bless all the natural world. Renew landscapes, cleanse the waters, and protect the animals. Save your people especially at this time from destructive storms and floods. Keep viruses in check, for the sake of your beloved humans. O God our benevolent Gardener, give ear to us. Come to the nations. Preserve all peoples from war and violence. Guide the leaders of nations, our president, our governors, and our legislators toward wise decisions in struggling against the virus and in reviving the economy. Teach all peoples how to share limited resources with those in greater need. Guide the work of the United Nations during this unprecedented situation. O God our mighty Peacemaker, give ear to us. Come to all who suffer from the virus. Comfort the mourners, heal the sick, sustain medical workers. Empower those researchers who are seeking a vaccine. Stay with us, and accompany all those who are isolated or afraid. Give to those with prior ailments and chronic disease their necessary medical care. Especially we pray for those we name here before you …..O God our compassionate Healer, give ear to us. As at Emmaus you joined the meal of the disciples, so come also to our tables. Uphold farmers, ranchers, migrant workers, and all who produce, package and market our food. Guard the health of those who work at grocery stores. Bless the efforts of local food banks. Enable us to feed the children who have relied on food given out at school. Show us how to feed the people living in refugee camps and nations experiencing famine and drought. O God our generous Provider, give ear to us. Walk with us on our roadways, whether marked with sorrow or joy, and receive our petitions, both sad lament or fervent praise. O God our beloved Companion, give ear to us. Accept our praises for those who have died in the faith, including those who stricken with the virus, the medical workers who died healing others, and this week Catherine of Siena, the apostles Philip and James, and Bishop Athanasius, each of whom served you in their own time and place. Accompany us now, as you did them, until at the end of all things we feast at your table with all the saints in glory. O God, the Mystery of Life, give ear to us. With bold confidence in your providence, O holy and gracious God, we place all for whom we pray into your eternal care; through Christ our saving Lord. Amen.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil, For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING: May the One who brought forth Jesus from the dead raise us to new life, fill us with hope, and turn our mourning into dancing. Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us now and forever. Amen.
DISMISSAL: Christ is risen, just as he said. Together, let us go to share this Good News, led by the Spirit, to serve God and share Christ’s love with all people. Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Please call the church office or email Pr. Jen with any prayer requests you may have so they may be shared with the congregation.
Please continue to hold in prayer:
Laura Everill, daughter of Phyllis and Tom Agness, residing in a healthcare facility
Walter Crowley, husband of Kathryn and father of Ginger Toomire recovering from pneumonia
Pr Cheryll, Karl, and Nick Kaukis who mourn the death of Chris, beloved son and brother
Jack Kraigenow, Linda’s husband, recovering from surgery
John Greene, Millie’s husband, recovering from surgery
Fred Schaible, Eileen’s husband and Pr. Jen’s dad, in hospice care
Those recovering from storm damage
Suzette, Katie McClay’s friend who is recovering after colon cancer surgery,
Norm Balint, Roberta’s husband, who is recovering from catheterization & two stents
Colleen, Fran Kostrowsky’s cousin who is recovering from a broken hip in rehab
Those who are in need or ill in any way, those who are lonely, those who are frightened, those who grieve, those caring for those who are ill
Pr Hans shared a free program to make calls to those who are alone. The organization Right At Home is making calls to those who live alone to combat the loneliness and depression that accompany this sheltering in place. If you know of someone who is in need of this service, please call 941-999-2609 and share the information about a person you are concerned for and they will make daily phone calls to offer calming reassurance and information about getting essential necessities.
PLANNING TO RESUME PARKING LOT WORSHIP NEXT WEEKEND ON SATURDAY 5:30pm and SUNDAY 10am. PLEASE KEEP WATCH FOR EMAILS AND ROBOCALLS FOR UPDATES!!!!
Dear friends of Jesus Loves You, We hope you are keeping safe and sheltering in place during this time. While our thrift shop is closed, our doors to serve our community are open. Campers are still able to receive showers, lunch and clothing and we have added additional services during this uncertain time. Starting March 27th, we partnered with the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition to provide dinner to the homeless of our community every single day, in addition, our dining room is used as a “school” for several of our homeless children. It’s been such a blessing to see the children thrive in their studies.
We would not be able to keep our doors open without our support! Right around the corner is the 2020 Giving Challenge. The 2020 Giving Challenge is presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation. It is a 24-hour giving challenge from noon April 28th to noon April 29th. Every donation given will be matched up to $100! It’s is an amazing opportunity to raise unrestricted funds for JLYM to continue helping those in need. Please pray about partnering with us on April 28th @ noon. If you feel led, share this with friends and family as well. Our JLYM team is praying for each of you! Links to give:
https://www.thegivingpartner.org/organizations/jesus-loves-you-ministry-inc
https://www.givingpartnerchallenge.org/organizations/jesus-loves-you-ministry-inc
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