Take time to find the Holy ... and colour too !!!

GREETINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS
MINUTE FOR MISSION

HYMN #401 Worship the Lord

CALL TO WORSHIP
One: The day was long, it was filled with fear.
They fled for home, wanting to leave it all behind.
ALL: A STRANGER JOINED THEM.
HE WALKED WITH THEM. HE TALKED WITH THEM.
One: The events of the day had taken hold of them.
Each step felt heavy, their hearts were filled with dread.
ALL: ON THEY WALKED, OVER HILLS AND THORUGH THE VALLEY.
WITH EACH STEP THEY MOVED FARTHER AWAY…
One: They approached a town,
The light was growing dim, the sun was setting.
ALL: STAY WITH US STRANGER, THEY CALLED,
THE DAY IS SPENT, THE NIGHT HAS COME
One: Together they found comfort and safety.
ALL: IN THEIR HEARTS LAY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS,
WITHIN THEIR SOUL SAT UN-NAMED GRIEF.
One: And then the stranger took bread and broke it…
ALL: THEIR EYES WERE OPENED,
THEIR HEARTS WERE ENFLAMED,
THEIR SOULS REJOICED.

PRAYER OF APPROACH:
One: In life, in death,
In life beyond death,
ALL: WE ARE NOT ALONE!
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
One: In the steps of the journey
In the breaking of the bread.
ALL: WE ARE NOT ALONE!
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
One: From Jerusalem to Clanwilliam
From Minnedosa to Galilee
ALL: WE ARE NOT ALONE!
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
One: From the empty tomb to the shore of Galilee
From the upper room to a distant village
ALL: WE ARE NOT ALONE!
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
One: In life, in death,
In this world and beyond
ALL: WE ARE NOT ALONE!
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! AMEN.

HYMN #642 Be Thou My Vision

PRAYER FOR WHOLENESS
One: Merciful and Almighty God
Through the rising of the Christ from the grave,
You broke the powers that enslave us
You broke the power of death over us.
ALL: IN THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD
YOU OPENED THE EYES OF THOSE WHO COULDN’T SEE YOU.
One: Holy and Loving God,
Through the mystery of The Resurrection
You set us free
ALL: HELP US TO FIND IN OUR LIVES
THAT WHICH NEEDS TO DIE,
HELP US TO FIND IN OURSELVES
THAT WHICH NEEDS RENEWAL
HELP US TO FIND IN OUR COMMUNITY
THAT WHICH NEEDS TRANSFORMATION
(pause)
One: Resurrect in our lives,
ALL: FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE.
One: Renew and recreate us O Holy One,
ALL: AS YOU RAISED CHRIST FROM THE GRAVE,
RAISE US FROM LIVES IN NEED OF YOU…
One: Guide our steps
ALL: AS WE FOLLOW THE RISEN ONE. AMEN.

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Luke 24:13-35
Intro to the Gospel readings …
Throughout this reading we hear the words – peace/shalom, faith, believe and most outrageously – JOY.
The happenings of today’s reading come in the hours after Mary had returned from the tomb and told the disciples that it is empty and that she has been told by mysterious visitors that Jesus is risen and no longer dead …
What thoughts and feelings were tearing through the disciples and those who had been following Jesus?
Two of those in his entourage have headed out of town – fleeing to the village of Emmaus that was to the west in the hills of Judea … they were seeking solace and comfort from the fear and the very real threat of retribution by the Roman and Jewish authorities. As they walked the 20 kilometers they were talking about the events and happenings that had just washed over all of them … And then they were joined by a stranger and before sundown, they would experience for themselves the Resurrection in the most unexpected of ways and in the most unexpected of places …
Such is our lesson from the reading – to open our eyes to the Holy wherever we may find it …
Psalm 4 (pg. 727 V.U.)

HYMN #169 Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing

STORY STOOL:

CHOIR ANTHEM:

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 3:12-19
Intro to the reading from Acts:

In the context of fear and a very real threat to those who followed Jesus, Peter and the others step and begin to speak boldly and courageously about who Jesus was and what his life, death and resurrection means to the world …
We can argue for hours and hours and hours – well, in truth, we can argue for centuries about the Resurrection because that is just what the Church has done – but we will continue to have disagreements because each of us understand what the resurrection is and was in a different way.
As a people of faith – faith in the resurrection we proclaim our certainty in the Resurrection and look for its presence in our lives -
What proof of presence of the resurrection in our lives, look to the example of Peter and the others who had been in ministry with Jesus. One day they are cowering in fear in the upper room, then in a matter of hours they are brazenly standing in the courtyard the temple – the very temple whose authorities had helped to orchestrate Jesus’ arrest, trial and death – and they are proclaiming loudly and boldly that Jesus has risen and without fear they are witnessing to their faith …
From fear to courage …from death to life … our readings today challenge our understanding of the world and ask us how we are living the resurrection …

Luke 24:36-48
Intro to the second part of Luke:

We have spoken of, and encountered the resurrection. We’ve noted the use of words like peace/shalom, faith, believe and JOY. But the question remains – what shall we do with these things …
Holding these things together in our faith and our lives is the gift of prayer. Not prayer as a divine wish list we give to a heavenly santa, but prayer as the conversation we have in our lives with the HOLY.
We can call God by many names. We can call God the higher power, or Jehovah or Yahweh. We can speak of God as our friend and companion, as the creator or as the sustainer of life – but our readings today remind us that whatever terms we use, what ever concepts we call to mine, whatever way we chose to speak of God – it is how we experience God that really matters.
The disciples, in the hours and days following Jesus’ death experienced the Resurrection in a very real and tangible way. A way that sent them out into the world transformed and forever changed. There was no fear nor trepidation in them after their experience with the Resurrection. They went with boldness and courage to proclaim to the world the simple truth – “He is Risen.”
Our challenge is to live the prayerful life that is intimately connected with the Holy presence of God that is all around us …

SERMON:
So, where is the Spirit in this moment? Where is the Holy as we sit here right now? Where do we find the Holy as we leave this place and return to our lives?
The undercurrent of our Gospel reading is a lesson in finding the Holy in the midst of the mundane and not only having our hearts burn with that discovery, but having the vision and the faith to see and experience for ourselves the Holy that is often found in the ordinary and everyday moments.
Our readings find the disciples leaving Jerusalem later in the day in which Mary Magdalene came and said “the tomb is empty … He is risen!” They were no doubt filled with apprehension and fear. Their departure was probably more about safety then anything else … they were fearful of what was swirling around them, and fearful of the outcomes over which they had no control.
So they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a small village about the same distance Minnedosa is from Basswood or Cadurcis. You could walk it in a couple of hours … The disciples were doing just that – walking down the well worn road that lead from Jerusalem out to the coast a few dozen kilometers distant beyond Emmaus. As they walked they talked – it seems from the text that they were talking about the events that had just occurred – the arrest, trial and execution of their teacher and friend. In a sense they did what all of us do when we’re with friends and trying to pass the time: they talked about politics and recent events in their lives (in this case they were one and the same).
As they walked a stranger joined them. He joined their conversation too. He listened and spoke – he guided the disciples through the writings of the prophets that their teacher had turned to so frequently. He explained the events of recent days by using the ancient words of the prophets who came down out of the hills and called the people to faithfulness …
What is significant in this reading is the moment after the two travelers invited the stranger to stay with them … the night had come, and it was seldom safe to travel the roads through Israel, even with the Roman occupation … so they invited him to join them, which he did. Then in a startling moment as they sit down to supper, the stranger takes the bread and offers a blessing and breaks the bread … in that moment the eyes of the disciples are opened and they recognize the stranger as Jesus. The same Jesus that Mary had told them earlier in the day – that he had risen.
The key phrase: “in the breaking of the bread” is one that is central to our understanding of what it means to be Church. We gather around the table and we break the bread and pour out the cup. In the breaking of the Bread our eyes are to be opened and we are to see, not only in the communion before us, but in the gathering of those around the table, the holy – the Risen One. We should find Christ in the moment when we take the bread and break it.
And so, the question we should ask ourselves when we read this story of the traveling disciples and the stranger, is whether or not we have the courage and the faith to have our eyes opened and to find and experience the Holy presence of the Risen Christ in our OWN lives not just here when we have communion, but throughout our daily lives?
This experience is perhaps lived most fully when we confront death and loss.
How often after a death or loss do we say or think – “I wish I would have said …” or “Gee, I wish I would have done this …”
Or how many of us have ordinary mundane things in our homes that have now become precious heirlooms because they once belonged to someone we’ve cared deeply about and have lost them, or they were gifts form someone we’ve said farewell to?
We all have such things – things imbued with memories and history and meaning because … because of what once was.
Frequently we will hear people say – “if only I had known – I would have …” and we express a regret of things said or not said, actions taken or not taken – regret that we often call “the woulda, shoulda, coulda’s …”
Our Gospel reading this morning is a challenge to seize that moment – not later – but when it happens. Our readings challenge us to seize the day, and live in the holy right now in our day to day lives and to find the holy in the ordinary and mundane.
As people of the resurrection we are to say, to do and to express what is in our hearts and souls. Like the call from the teacher in Dead Poets’ Society, we are to seize the day – carpe diem – and no longer put off for later what we can and should be doing today.
This is not an advocating of mindless consumerism or hedonism that puts me ahead of everyone else. It’s not about the toys, the status, the vacations – we’ll not find the satisfaction in these things – but rather it is an embracing of the HOLY in the relationships within our lives. We are to find God, not just here in Church one day a week, but finding God in the idle chit chat over coffee with a friend or neighbour.
It can begin with the simple thought of – If I know this person that I’m talking to is NOT going to be here in three hours what would I do differently? Would I waste my time chatting about the weather, or will I tell them what they mean to me? Will I focus on last night’s scores, or speak instead of what’s important?
The reality that the Emmaus Road experience teaches us is that our faith is reflected in how we treat others. Living in the Holy leaves no room for dishonesty and manipulations, and living in the Holy calls us to reject such things when we’ve experienced them. Living in the Holy, and opening our eyes to its presence in our lives is about focusing on what’s important in our lives and our relationships.

There’s an old adage that observes that you will seldom hear people say – “If I had it to do over, I would have spent more time in the office …” How true that is … the lesson for people like me who are work-aholics and who will willingly work 60-80 hours a week, is to slow down and re-prioritize. It tells me that the extra 20-30 hours that I often spend a week doing work tasks aren’t really that important after all, and often they aren’t appreciated anyway.
For the rest of us, those who are not work-aholics, we learn to value what’s important – family, friends – the relationships that give life its meaning.
Where I saw this most clearly was a few years ago when I was called to preside at the funeral of a woman who had lived with Down Syndrome throughout her life. As I sat with her family none of them said anything about her being Down Syndrome. They said – “she had never married, … she lived in care … she didn’t talk much …” Finally I teased it out of them that she was different, and in time her brother finally said – “she had down syndrome.”
I asked them to tell me about her – what did she like to do, what was important to her, what gave her life meaning … They then talked about her love of chocolate, her love of gifts – both giving and receiving, her love of flowers – they spoke of the aggravation of going to formal gardens with her: she had to smell EVERY flower, hugs, she loved to give and receive hugs from her family and caregivers, and colouring – her nieces, now young women in their 20’s laughed as they recalled the hours and hours they still spent colouring with Auntie – she loved to colour …
In a few short minutes we compiled a long list of things that this woman liked to do. Simple, ordinary, almost childish things that she liked to do and experience. In the eulogy, I mused about what the world could be like if we followed her lead and gave one another more gifts, enjoyed chocolate a little more, and spent more time colouring then fretting over things that don’t really matter anyway … and hugs, what kind of a world would we have if we had the courage to offer and receive more hugs?
At the end of the service the mother of this women came to me and wept as she said that for the first time she could see her daughter as a gift from God rather then simply retarded. She told me that when her daughter was born, the priest at her home parish told her that her daughter was a “monster and should be institutionalized, for the good of the family,” something she resisted her whole life … Now, in death she could see the Holy in the simple things like colouring, giving presents and giving gifts.
This is the lesson of Emmaus – when we least expect it, when we think we have it all sewn up – when we are focused on what WE think is important – then, just when we think we know all the answers God WILL break through and startle us. The Holy – The Resurrection – the very presence of the living God is all around us. Our challenge – our call – our taks – is to open our eyes to see and to live it.
The disciples saying: “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” tells us all we need to know – when we encounter the holy – wherever it is – our hearts will burn within us. Our responsibility in faith is to feel that burning, and to lay aside our petty concerns, our petty politicking, our petty egos and focus instead on the presence of the Holy that stirs within us and calls us to something higher and something new.
The first step comes from a comment made in Bible Study on Friday. One of our number said her mother had a plaque on the wall that said – “Don’t say or do anything that you wouldn’t want to be saying or doing when Jesus comes…”
And so it begins – our readings speak of joy, peace (Shalom) and faith – they celebrate the holy in the ordinary. It begins by living our lives with faith and by seeing and celebrating the Holy wherever we find it.
In the coming days, may we have the courage, the faith and the vision, to not only find the Holy, but to let the burning within our hearts and souls live and celebrate the Holy in every moment. In the coming days may we live that Holiness in everything we do …

May it be so – thanks be to God – let us pray …

OFFERING:

OFFERTORY:

PRAYER OF DEDICATION:

HYMN: #563 Jesus, You Have Come to the Lakeshore

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE THE LORD’S PRAYER

HYMN: #232 Joyful, Joyful We Adore You

COMMISSIONING/BENEDICTION:

SUNG RESPONSE: HYMN #424 May the God of hope Go with Us

The worship has ended…
…the work of God’s people has just begun
Go in peace

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

M&S Lunch – following worship today! All are welcome.

Confirmation Classes will resume next Saturday at 12:30 at Minnedosa Bowl.

Today is Camping Sunday – our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to the Board, Staff and Volunteers of Prairie Spirit United Church Camp as they prepare for this year’s camping season.

AOTS – meet this Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.

Concert of Choirs and Quartets – May 9th, 7:30 p.m., MCCC. Proceeds to the Rebuilding Fund.