The entrance of a replica of a tomb where Jesus was thought to be buried. (The image is from here, and, with excerpts from Luke 24:5-6 ESV, it was manipulated for use in the slider graphic for this page.)
You want groceries? You go to a grocery store. You want medical care? You go to a hospital. You want spiritual care? You go to a church. We know that, in general, that for which we are looking determines where we go. So, we understand the angels’ question to the women who had come to the tomb that first Easter morning with spices they had prepared for Jesus’s body: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5 ESV). If they had believed Jesus’s Word that He would rise again on the third day, a cemetery would really have been the last place they would have looked for Him.
Where do we look for Jesus, Who was dead and now is resurrected? Some people still make pilgrimages to what is thought to have been Jesus’s tomb, but they will not find Him there. Instead, He is where He promises to be: present with His Church in Word and Sacrament (Matthew 18:20; 28:18-20). Especially in the Sacrament of the Altar He is really, physically present in bread and wine, with the same body and blood that hung on the cross and rose from the dead. In the Sacrament of the Altar we find not only the Resurrected Lord and so the forgiveness of sins, but we also find our own resurrections (John 6:35-40). And, in the Sacrament of the Altar we also find all of those alive spiritually, whether or not right now they are alive physically. (On the Last Day, of course, cemeteries will be where we find most of the resurrected dead, at least initially.)
You are invited to look for the Resurrected Jesus with all those who believe in Him at Pilgrim Lutheran Church on Easter Day, throughout the Easter season, and always. On Easter Day, April 20, 2014, we will have special “Sonrise” Matins at 7:30 a.m. and the Divine Service at 10:45 a.m. Between the two, we will have an Easter Breakfast at 8:15 a.m. and an Egg Hunt at 9:15, before Sunday School and Adult Bible Class at 9:30 a.m. For the rest of the Easter season and every other Sunday, our regular schedule is at the right.
The events of the Resurrection of Our Lord are more obviously the focus of the Gospel Readings on the day itself and less obviously the rest of the season. The following are the Sundays of Easter in 2014 and their Gospel Readings (appointed by Lutheran Service Book’s three-year lectionary series A).
• Second Sunday (04/27): Jesus appears to Thomas (John 20:19-31)
• Third Sunday (05/04): Jesus appears to Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13-35)
• Fourth Sunday (05/11): Jesus the Good Shepherd gives abundant life (John 10:1-10)
• Fifth Sunday (05/18): Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:1-14)
• Sixth Sunday (05/25): Jesus asks the Father to send the Spirit (John 14:15-21)
• Seventh Sunday (06/01): Jesus prays for His disciples to be one (John 17:1-11)
The Day of Pentecost, the 50th day of Easter, will be observed on June 8th. Pilgrim will also offer a Vespers service marking The Ascension of Our Lord on Thursday, May 29th, at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome to any of our services!
You may read and hear the sermons at Pilgrim from the Season of Easter and from every season of the Church Year here.
