{"id":1551,"date":"2018-04-01T19:16:19","date_gmt":"2018-04-01T19:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=1551"},"modified":"2018-04-01T19:17:25","modified_gmt":"2018-04-01T19:17:25","slug":"sermon-1st-april-2018-evening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-1st-april-2018-evening\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 1st April 2018 – evening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n

Easter Day – evening<\/h1>\n
\n

Sunday 1st April 2018<\/h3>\n

Easter Day – evening
\n
\nEzek 37. 1-14
\nLuke 24. 13-35 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n

\n

\"MaureenThe two people who feature in our New Testament reading for this evening are not apostles. They are not one of the 12 \u2013 or the 11 as they have become after the events of that first Easter. They are friends of Jesus, but not part of the \u2018in crowd\u2019 . One we are told is called Cleophas or Clopas, the other is unnamed, but may well have been his wife. <\/p>\n

They have been in the upper room with the other disciples, they have witnessed all that has happened, they are heart-sore and dejected. All their great hopes and dreams seem to have come to naught. They have heard wild talk from some of the women of the body of Jesus having been snatched away. Some say he has risen from the dead, but to them this seems like so much wishful thinking \u2013 wild talk, an idle tale they could not believe. We probably would have felt much the same in their shoes \u2013 or sandals. <\/p>\n

Jesus walked beside them along the road, though they did not recognize him. <\/p>\n

I wonder how often Jesus walks beside you and me, and we don\u2019t realize he is ther, anxious to help us understand the things that are puzzling us, if only we would ask? Whether it was because these two were walking towards the sunset (because while the exact identity of this Emmaus is uncertain, and there are several candidates, they are all west of the city of Jerusalem). So whether the sun in their eyes made it hard to see the features of the stranger walking and talking to them; or whether their grief and certainty that Jesus was dead, prevented them from recognizing the true identity of their companion, we don\u2019t know, but for whatever reason, their minds refused to believe the evidence of their eyes. Anyway, Jesus began to explain how the OT had predicted that the Saviour, when he came, would be rejected and killed but would rise again to new life. And often the New Testament tells us things that fulfil prophecies made in the Old. <\/p>\n

The words of the stranger were so compelling and intriguing that they invited him in to stay with them; to eat and spend the night \u2013 in true biblical hospitality. It is this passage that gives rise to the famous hymn \u2018Abide with me\u2019 , although I doubt if many in a football crowd singing it at the top of their voices know the origin of the song they sing! <\/p>\n

In modern times we might say, \u201cCome on in and spend the night with us,\u201d but the resonance of the old words stays in our minds. Abide with me. <\/p>\n

But that is good, because it prompts us to ask, \u201cWhen was the last time I invited Jesus into my home?\u201d Yes, we know in the abstract that he is there always, but it is often not until you deliberately invite him in that you are consciously aware of his presence. <\/p>\n

So on this Easter Day evening, I leave you with this; There is a lovely prayer – apparently by the seventeenth century Welsh poet and physician, Henry Vaughan: <\/p>\n

Abide with us, O most blessed and merciful Saviour, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. As long as thou art present with us, we are in the light. When thou art present all is brightness, all is sweetness. We discourse with thee, watch with thee, live with thee and lie down with thee. Abide then with us, O thou whom our soul loveth, thou Sun of righteousness with healing under thy wings, arise in our hearts; make thy light then to shine in darkness as a perfect day in the dead of night. Amen <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermons index Easter Day – evening Sunday 1st April 2018 Easter Day – evening Ezek 37. 1-14 Luke 24. 13-35 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs The two people who feature in our New Testament reading for this evening are not apostles. They are not one of the 12 \u2013 or the 11 as they have become … <\/p>\n

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