Easter Prayer
On Easter Sunday, God, you delivered life where there was once only death.
You sparked renewal where there was once only decay.
You authored a beginning where there was once only an end.
Today, God, our world still suffers death—AIDs stealing lives in Africa, extremists ending lives in Afghanistan, poverty killing infants in Memphis.
Today, God, our world still suffers from decay—a planet feverish from pollution, immorality legislated in our governments, our own economy wobbling.
Today, God, our world still suffers from endings—marriages coming to an end, health coming to an end, dreams coming to an end.
Nevertheless, we still believe. Especially on this Easter Sunday, we believe.
We believe you will once again deliver life where there is death.
You will spark renewal where there is decay.
You will author a beginning where we only see the end.
We confess our belief in you, the God of Easter.
In the name of the one whom you raised, your son Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Easter Sunday’s Passion: Following a Man on a Mission (Lk. 24:13-49)
April 12, 2009
I recently celebrated my birthday. I want to tell you about two gifts I received. First, my mother sent two notebooks which she lovingly crafted over the period of many months. It contains things from my youth—pictures I drew in elementary school, photos of me as a baby, report cards, etc. The gift led me to reminisce. It especially drew my memory back to the house we lived in when I was in elementary school. One of the things I most remember is waking up there on Saturday mornings and watching cartoons. My brother Craig and I would wake up so early that when we turned on the TV all it showed was a color pattern indicating there was no signal (we didn’t have cable back then). We’d wait in our pajamas on our large red bean bag chair. And when the cartoons came on, we’d watch for hours. We liked the superhero cartoons—Batman, Spiderman, Superman, Aquaman, the Justice League. I always especially liked Spiderman. His super-power was my favorite. I thought it would be great to climb walls and shoot spiderwebs. Did you have a favorite superhero growing up? Shout out the name of one your favorite childhood superheroes or super-powers…
Another gift I received was the graphic novel Watchmen. It is considered one of the 100 best American novels, though it is definitely not Christian in any sense. The story revolves around a group of superheroes. The setting is a large American city in the 20th century. The novel has many twists. One of the major twists has to do with the failure of the superheroes. Despite their best efforts they have been unable to effectively fight crime. Instead, the greed and violence and immorality of the city have overcome the superheroes. With one exception, they do not have powers super enough to fix the broken city. Many of them have quit. And some are now even being murdered by powerful criminals. In fact, the opening scene is of one superhero being thrown out a skyscraper window to his death. And the novel raises this question: Is there a power strong enough to fix a broken world?
The novel is a commentary on our world. Even on Easter Sunday, we have to admit that ours is a broken world. Even today, Easter Sunday, there are children down at Saint Jude fighting for their lives. Even today, Easter Sunday, there are leaders of regimes hoping to gain nuclear weapons. Even today, Easter Sunday, there are people in this worship service who are hurt, or confused, or broken. In many ways, our world is in need of super heroes with super powers. But sometimes things seem so broken that we are left wondering: is there a power strong enough to fix a broken world?
In our text in Luke 24 we overhear two people talking about Jesus and his power. Some women have found Jesus’ tomb empty. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James have seen the empty tomb, as has Peter. We read about this in Lk. 24:1-12. But in spite of this discovery, some of Jesus’ followers are filled with disappointment.
In Lk. 24:13 we meet two of these disappointed followers. Luke tells us the name of one of them—Cleopas. The other is a stranger. They are leaving Jerusalem and walking towards a village named Emmaus. And as they walk, they talk. The risen Jesus comes up from behind and asks what they are talking about. They don’t know it’s Jesus. They are kept from recognizing him. But it is Jesus. And he asks what they are talking about. Here’s how they answer: 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. (Lk. 24:19-21 TNIV). Cleopas and his friend have been talking about Jesus. Specifically they’ve been talking about his life. They characterize his life with the phrase “powerful in word and deed.” What struck them most about Jesus was how powerful Jesus was.
And elsewhere Luke uses this word “power” to describe how Jesus went about fixing what was broken.
· For example, after being tested in the wilderness, Jesus begins his teaching ministry in Galilee. Luke describes it these words: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…He was teaching in their synagogues…” (Lk. 4:14-13 TNIV).
· After the people see Jesus cast a demon out of a man, the people say, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (Lk. 4:36 TNIV).
· Later, Luke writes this: “One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.” (Lk. 5:17 TNIV).
· Here’s another example: “Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” (Lk. 6:19 TNIV).
· Later, a woman suffering with a chronic health problem for twelve years reaches out and touches Jesus. Jesus remarks, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” (Lk. 8:46 TNIV).
As Cleopas and his friend walk, this is what they’ve been talking about. They’ve been talking about the powerful life of Jesus. His powerful words. His powerful deeds. They and Luke believe that Jesus had the power to fix the broken world. Jesus had the power to fix those broken by demons. Jesus had the power to fix those broken by health problems. Jesus had the power to fix those broken by spiritual ignorance or pride or selfishness. That’s what they’ve been talking about.
In fact, they believed that Jesus’ power was so super he could fix the entire nation of Israel. They say but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. There was a lot about the nation that was broken at this time. Politically it was ruled over by a cruel and godless tyrant called Rome. Religiously it was overseen by spiritual leaders who used and abused the religious system. Socially it was suffering from poverty and large numbers of people just scraping by. The entire nation was broken. And Cleopas and his friend believed that Jesus had the power to fix all of that.
But then, Jesus died. Listen again: 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. (Lk. 24:19-21 TNIV). Jesus had the power to fix the broken world. But now that same broken world has killed Jesus. The greed, violence, and immorality of that world overcame even Jesus. Not even his super power could withstand the destructive forces at work in the world. It turns out that the broken world had the power to kill even Jesus.
Can you imagine how Cleopas and his friend felt? Some of you sports enthusiasts got a very small taste of that on April 1. You woke up and here’s what you saw on the front page of the Commercial Appeal: “He’s Gone.” Coach Jon Calipari had the power to lead the University of Memphis and the entire city of Memphis to a something bright and beautiful. But suddenly he was gone. That power had come to an end. Multiply that by thousands and you get a sense of how Cleopas and his friend felt. They were some of the only humans in history to personally witness the power of Jesus and his ability to repair and renew. But now he’s dead. Can you imagine how that felt? Imagine hearing news reports today of someone who travelled to Africa and with the wave of his hand eradicated AIDs. Imagine going downtown and watching that same person eradicate the poverty killing infants in this city. Imagine hearing a breaking story on the radio about how that same person travelled to Iraq and Afghanistan and ended the conflicts there. Then, imagine waking up and reading the headline: “He’s Dead.” Religious extremists had captured him, tortured him, and murdered him. He’s dead. It turns out that the broken world had the power to kill even Jesus.
But remember who Cleopas and his friend are talking to! They are talking to the risen Jesus. Jesus is not dead. The broken world did not overcome him. The greed and the violence and the immorality could not keep him down. Jesus is back. There is no power greater than his power. His resurrection proves it. Jesus’ resurrection proves that his power is greater than the broken world’s power.
And when Cleopas and his friend finally recognize that this is the risen Jesus talking to them, they run back to Jerusalem. They run three and half miles—a 5 K—and burst into the room where Jesus’ disciples are. And the disciples say, “It is true! The Lord has risen… (Lk. 24:34 TNIV). Then Jesus appears in their midst. And Luke says in verse 41 that they were filled with joy and amazement. Jesus is back. There is no power greater than his power.
And now listen to the way in which this risen Jesus explains the significance of all of this: 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Lk. 24:44-49 TNIV). Jesus helps them understand that everything that’s happened has happened according to plan—the Scriptures have foretold this. If they had just read the script more closely, they would have understood—nothing in this world was more powerful than Jesus. The ending always had Jesus coming back from the dead.
But notice especially what Jesus says at the end of his speech: 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high (Lk. 24:47-49 TNIV). This Jesus who has the power to fix a broken world has come back. He’s come back to prove that nothing can overcome his power. But he’s not come back to continue a kind of lone-ranger superhero business. He’s not come back to just keep doing all by himself what he was doing. Instead, he’s come back not only to demonstrate the strength of his power, but to now share that power with us: but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. This word “power” is same word used by Cleopas and his friend to describe Jesus. It’s the same word Luke uses to describe Jesus’ ministry. And now the risen Jesus declares that he’s come back from the dead to given that same power to his followers. And he’s going to send them to all nations with that power. Jesus has risen to give us the power to fix a broken world. The same power he used to teach life-transforming lessons and heal the sick and rise from the dead he’s now giving to us. And he’s sending us to keep doing what he’s been doing—repairing and restoring and healing this world.
This is the surprising Easter message in Luke. For Luke, Easter is not about how Jesus beat death, and therefore we can beat death, and therefore we’ll all live happily with Jesus in heaven. Easter is not about how Jesus rose from the dead to take us all to heaven and to escape this hurt and the pain and the darkness of the world. No, for Luke Easter is about how Jesus demonstrated his power over that darkness and now sends us with that same power to do what he did—to keep driving back that darkness.
That’s why we asked you to bring baby food, baby formula, and baby diapers today for the children served through Families in Touch. Homeless and pregnant women are one of the most underserved populations in the city of Memphis. There are very few ministries or services that attempt to reach out to homeless and pregnant women and their children. Families in Touch is one of those. It provides housing, health care, spiritual care, and job training for these woman and their children. And Easter is about a risen Jesus empowering us to go to those mothers and their children and do deeds that can forever change their lives—not only for eternity, but for the present, right here and right now.
In his book Based on a True Story James Chung writes this: “Almost every sustained, beneficial social movement has been started by Christians: public education, orphanages, literacy, human rights, children’s rights, peace movements, women’s suffrage, civil rights, the abolitionist movement, rights for the disabled…were started by Christians.” Just find some place, especially in this city, where what’s broken is being repaired. You’re likely to find Christians behind it. The risen Jesus has empowered us to go and do what he has been doing—healing and restoring and renewing.
Chris Tomlin sings a song called “God of this City.” In it he says, “You’re the light in the darkness, you’re the hope to the hopeless, you’re peace to the restless, you are.” He sings about how God is the one who brings light into the darkness of people’s lives, hope to the hopeless, and peace to the restless. But then Tomlin turns it around and sings, “But greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.” And that’s the message of the risen Jesus. Yes, Jesus has done powerful things in word and deed. But greater things have yet to come. And greater things are still to be done in this city. And in this world. Yes, the risen Jesus is the light in this darkness, is the hope to the hopeless, is the peace to the restless. But he’s come back from the dead to empower and send us to be the same. He’s using his resurrection power to make us the light in the darkness, the hope to the hopeless, and the peace to the restless. That’s the message of the resurrection.
