Sunday Sermon, 19 April 2026
The Third Sunday of Easter, Cornerstone Community Church, Sedbergh
You can read the sermon by Heather Fraser below, or listen to it here:
A reading from the Gospel According to Luke
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 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 took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Acts 2.14a, 22–32 NRSVA
Jesus comes to us and meets us where we are
to share the good news. Amen
For Christians, the Easter celebrations continue long after the Easter eggs and the Simnel cake have been finished. Easter is a time of new hope & new life.
But the last few weeks have been challenging & sometimes dulled that excitement of the “good news” of Easter”.
the unrest in the Middle East and the impact that it is having on the wider world
closer to home:
the recent loss of a young life affecting so many people across Sedbergh & Dentdale
and a seemingly, higher-than-normal number of friends & neighbours in poor health and suffering
It can be difficult to understand WHY. Where is God in all this?
When I’m struggling make sense of what’s going on in the World, I’ll either get my hands dirty in my vegetable plot or take myself off for a walk with the dog. My ‘go to’ place is above Dent station from Knout Gate and across to Arten Gill viaduct.
On a good day you can see out to the coast, across to the Three Peaks and beyond.
On a not so good day, weatherwise you can find yourself walking above the clouds in the bottom of the dale, often seeing a glimmer of sun in the distance – giving hope. In fact coming back from taking assembly at Sedbergh Primary on Wednesday, I decided to drive back across the Coal Road & was greeted by one of those amazing views.
And as I walk, I normally find myself having a chat ….yes to the DOG but also with GOD…thanking him for the wonderous landscape that he has created & we call home
Let’s think about those the Gospel reading that Steve kindly red for us.
Cleopas and his companion (whose name we are not told) were heading from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. They were walking a distance just short of my journey from Cowgill this morning. (I drove rather than walked by the way!). Along the way the disciples, discussed the events of the last few days, trying to make sense of them and their sadness.
We’re told that, along the way, the resurrected Jesus joined them in lockstep and although they “saw him”, they apparently didn’t recognize him. Maybe he had his head covered from the sun or possibly as they were all walking side by side, they were concentrating on where they were going.
Did anyone follow the TV series, aired Easter, ‘Celebrity Pilgrimage’? The ‘celebrities’ of different & no faith walked St Cuthberts Way. Did anyone watch it/know who the celebrities were? As they walked side-by-side they opened up to their fellow pilgrim about their life and the believes.
Coming halfway into their conversation, Jesus asked them what they were talking about. They were aghast! Where on earth had this guy been? Had he not heard what had happened – a crucifixion, a burial, a crime scene with a missing body. They had so hoped that Jesus would be “the one.” But he’d gone, finished!
Any ordinary person might read their account as a work of fiction or supernatural story rather than real-life events. Or maybe think that Cleopas and his companion had had too much sun!
But not Jesus! After a short rebuke ….“You foolish guys, did you not believe in your hearts what the prophets had foretold”, Jesus goes on to recount what Moses, and the prophets had said about him in the scriptures. All the pieces of the jigsaw are gradually fitting into place for Cleopas and friend.
In the final act of this story, the day is ending and Cleopas and the other disciple invite their new friend to stay & eat with them. At the table Jesus took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them – what we would see as sharing Communion.
And just as the two recognized who they were really talking to, Jesus vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road and while he was opening the scriptures to us?’
They had the accolade of being the first to witness the “resurrected” Jesus as their hearts turned from sadness to hope…. their heats were burning.
Like Cleopas and his fellow traveller, we don’t always recognize what Jesus is doing in our lives, but we are all companions on a journey …. Jesus will come to us and meets us where we are.
Whether it’s in Emmaus or the walking from the Coal Road, Jesus walks with us, listens and opens our eyes.
AMEN