Today in the Spirit: Easter 3A
On Sunday, Easter 3, the church moves forward with its messaging on Christian living, grounded in the truth of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and appearance.
In Year A, the assigned Gospel reading out of Luke 24:13-35 recounts Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke’s skillful narration in this passage demonstrates a shift in control in the conversation from the two disciples to the stranger, gradually revealing himself as Jesus. It is not the latter’s magical disappearance that convinces them the man is Jesus but the manner in which he spoke and conducted himself among them: “‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (32).
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The church’s preferred choice for a first reading this week is Acts 2:14a,36-47. This passage gives us the second half of Peter’s sermon after Pentecost (having heard the first half the previous week). In response to the crowd’s query as to how the crowd should respond to his teaching on the claims of the risen Jesus, Peter exhorts them to “‘repent and be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ’’ (38). The reading concludes with Luke’s description of the extraordinary community life of the early church in Jerusalem (42-47).
One can imagine that, as Jesus is explaining “the things concerning himself” from the Scriptures to the two disciples in Luke, he may well have included portions of the assigned OT reading from Isaiah 43:1-12. This passage, likely addressed to Israelite exiles in Babylon, makes clear references to the Messiah:
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.”
Isaiah 43:10
In our worship, through the words of the appointed Psalm 116:11-16 (verses 12-19 in most English Bible translations), we might imagine ourselves as Israelites in Babylon responding to the great promises of YHWH in Isaiah 43, or as members of the crowd hearing Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Jerusalem recorded in Acts, responding with joy and renewed faith in God: “O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, and the child of your handmaid; you have broken my bonds asunder. I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the Name of the Lord (14-15).
Continuing the series in 1 Peter through Easter Year A, the assigned epistle reading in 1 Peter 1:13-25 calls the church to sober-mindedness and holiness in Christ through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Unlike in Acts, where Peter is preaching an evangelistic message to would-be believers, here he addresses Christians under the threat of persecution, urging them to persevere in pursuing the imperishable things of God rather than the perishable riches of the world.
The assigned collect (placed mid-Pentecost in the BCP 1979 and restored to the Easter season in the BCP 2019) prays for grace, grounded in the revelation of Jesus Christ as “both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living.” Gratitude and faithfulness are not viewed as separate aspects of life in Christ as much as spiritual impulses that feed off one another in our hearts to good ends.
The Collect
Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
And They (Acts 2:14a, 36-47)
14a But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them:
Acts 2:14a, 36-47
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
From Luke’s writing in this passage, it is implied that the people “who received [Peter’s] word and were baptized” (41) were also those who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (42) shortly, maybe very shortly, thereafter. For all the signs and wonders in Acts, there is possibly no greater miracle recorded by Luke than the birth of the early church in Jerusalem. How is it that these new disciples in such great numbers are so quickly brought into shape? Were they already culturally inclined to pray and meet in the temple and break bread in one another’s homes? Maybe, yes, to some degree, but the level of community life described here is nothing less than extraordinary, a triumph of the Spirit in this society (see also 4:32-35).
In the church today, we can make goals, strategize to meet targets, and do everything humanly possible to organize the church: nothing wrong with that. But we must never forget that spiritual gains in the Christian community depend on the work of the Holy Spirit behind every human initiative. The teaching of Jesus in John 15 about his being the vine and we the branches comes to mind: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (5). Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one; apart from the Spirit, we can do nothing.
See how Basil the Great (d. 379 AD) in his work On the Holy Spirit summarizes the breadth and depth of the work of the Spirit operating in the lives of believers, individually and communally: “Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all “fullness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.”
Today, Holy Spirit, we plead for Christian revival in our time, for the rising up of winsome and productive communities of saints as we see here in Acts.
You Are My Witnesses (Isaiah 43:1-12)
1 But now thus says the Lord,
Isaiah 43:1-12
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
9 All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
Many commentators agree that the last third of the book of Isaiah (40-66) is directed to the Israelites in exile and to those returning from exile. But for people scattered in small communities under the control of dominant empires like Babylon in the north and Egypt in the south, we can well imagine the prophet’s words, “Comfort, comfort” (Isaiah 40:1), coming across as pretty dreamy. YHWH’s message in this reading is basically one of wait-and-see. Using images of a trial court in the heavenly places, the great nations and their gods will present “witnesses” (9) who will fail to testify to any real strength over the God of Israel. The unlikely deliverance of Israel will provide ample testimony that YHWH is the only God. So, says YHWH to his people, in that trial, “You are my witnesses” (10).
Devotionally, this word is for you and me as we look with fear on the giants arrayed against us as Christians living in secular society. How can there really be any comfort against the unchecked tyranny of evil in all its forms (both “right” and “left”) wreaking havoc around the world, at work, in schools, and among our children? In the Easter season, we hear the testimony of the Father God in effect, “See my risen Son is my witness–and you, the new Israel, delivered from spiritual exile, you are my witnesses. You have seen something already–now wait and see, there is much more to come.”
Today, Holy Spirit, let us not be dismayed in our small community of exiled believers. Help us live, as Peter puts it, the NT reading assigned for today, as “foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17 NIV).
Dear in the Sight of the LORD (Psalm 116:12-19)
11 What shall I give unto the LORD *
Psalm 116:12-19, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
for all the benefits that he has done unto me?
12 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the LORD.
13 I will pay my vows unto the Lord in the presence of all his people; *
dear in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
14 O LORD, I am your servant; *
I am your servant, and the child of your handmaid; you have broken my bonds asunder.
15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and will call upon the Name of the LORD.
16 I will pay my vows unto the LORD in the sight of all his people, *
in the courts of the Lord’s house, even in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.
Our psalm today is a song of deliverance concerning an unspecified life-threatening personal circumstance of the psalmist. In the final section (11-16) assigned for our worship, the singer inquires, “What shall I give unto the LORD? (11). In his resolve to make the public thanksgiving offerings in the temple, he then exclaims seemingly out of nowhere, “dear in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (13). “Death” here (Heb. mawet) means the end of physical life. But what could he be referring to in this context when he has survived death? He could be remembering with thanksgiving martyrs to the cause of YHWH. But, at the risk of spiritualizing too much, we may wonder if he recognizes a “death” in the act of thanksgiving.
Jesus teaches the Christian life is martyrdom to self: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:24-25). Our Christian life is a series of spiritual deaths, an internal killing off of our insistence on having our own way here and our exerting unyielding control there, until one day we die physically. Are you just now troubled before the Lord on which way to turn in a matter of importance to you? It could be that Jesus is patiently waiting for you to die to self before he reveals anything more. “Dear” (or “precious” ESV) to God is that death of self in you, like a rare jewel in his hand, is the sight and sound of your letting go. Let not the language of death and dying scare you off. Sing to the Father with the psalmist euphoric in gratitude: “O LORD, I am your servant…and the child of your handmaid” (14). Such a self-emptying devotion is of incalculable worth in the heart of the Father.
Today, Holy Spirit, assist me to surrender my control, to put aside my prejudices, to forfeit my rights to have things my own way, that I might, with our psalmist in worship, offer you unreserved thanksgiving.
Do Not Be Conformed to the Passions of Your Former Ignorance (1 Peter 1:13-25)
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for
1 Peter 1:13-25
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Here again, this week is an opportunity to sit in worship under both the earlier and later teaching of Peter (Acts 2:14a, 36-47, and this reading from 1 Peter). It is interesting to see in both instances the compulsion of the Holy Spirit on Peter to advocate strongly for the avoidance of nominal faith–a careless form of assenting to the doctrines of Christ without allowing them to count for the transformation of personal behavior. In Acts, Peter follows up his instructions to “repent and be baptized” (38) with the admonition “save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (40). Thirty or so years later, the message in his letter to Christians is still: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (15).
There is for Christians in any age and place, for the mature and immature alike, the two-sided, holy compulsion to be built up into the reign of God on one hand and to guard against tyrannical, unholy forces—Satan and our own sinful nature—ever seeking to turn our allegiance from that reign on the other. Peter calls for a “sober-mnded” spirit (13) that, yes, will receive the joy of Christ’s coming, but will move past pure sentiment to apply the reality of the new life in Christ in our daily routines: how we live at home in families, how we behave at work, how we interact with others on the street, and how to suffer with grace (see 2:13ff). Developing a rule of life is helpful for this purpose.
Today, in the Spirit, go before God prayerfully accounting for the practical ways you can “set your hope fully” (13) on the resurrection of Christ.
They Stood Still, Looking Sad (Luke 24:13-35)
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up 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 happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even 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 him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke 24:13-35
There is an awkward moment worth contemplating at the beginning of this narrative. Luke opens with Cleopas and another disciple talking animatedly about “all these things that had happened” (14) in Jerusalem. Suddenly, Jesus appears, but they do not recognize him. The newcomer inquires what they are discussing, and the text says they “stood still, looking sad” (17; Greek: skuthropos, “somber” or “downcast”). Perhaps hesitant to air their feelings before a stranger, or to avoid becoming emotional, they shut down. Jesus wants to reveal himself to them as the risen Lord but decides in this case not to stun them (as he does with the group in the next section, Luke 24:36ff), but to meet them in their sadness and draw their story out of them. Only later, when they are stronger, does he reveal his identity.
Have you ever looked back at a difficult time and noted the skill with which the Son of God met your pain and confusion? Depending on what is needed, our Lord knows when to be stern and frank and when to be gentle and discreet. He knows how much time to take and what words to say. (Only by applying skill can the Son of God ever make use of the church to carry forward his ministry in the present age).
The road to Emmaus was a way to Jerusalem, and so the zeal of a psalmist on pilgrimage to Zion comes to mind here: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion…No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:5,11).
Today, in the Spirit, noting the care you took with these two disciples, Lord, I am grateful for your wisdom and sensitivity in dealing with me. Now, as a minister of the gospel encouraged by you, use me as an instrument of your good treatment with others.
Today in the Spirit
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