Light on the Lessons

Light on the Lessons

Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35

Third Sunday of Easter; Cycle A; April 30, 2017

Leader Guidance

Materials Needed

+ Bibles for everyone (variety of translations often useful)

+ Lectionary sheets (very convenient if you use them in worship)

+ Chalkboard, newsprint, overhead, or another means for displaying information and recording thoughts.

+ Basic reference books for use as needed: Bible dictionary, Bible atlas, concordance, a one-volume Bible commentary.

I Getting Started

Continue to use the Easter exchange: L/ Christ is risen. R/ He is risen indeed. Read the lessons aloud before discussing them. Offer prayers, especially for peace in the Middle East, then discuss the question in “Getting Started.”

1. The statement is based on the hope that Easter brings, hope of renewal, rebirth, and death into life. If the God who has the world in his hands is a God of life rather than death, we can be optimistic about the world. However, if one is not an optimist, it does not indicate a weak grasp of the Easter. Easter simply opens the possibility for a new view of our fortunes in this world.

2. Responses will vary. The term, however understood in detail, points to our baptism and underscores the radical nature of our relationship with Christ.

3. “Repent” is a powerful word. The Greek word translated so in our lessons means “turn around, about face, change your orientation to life.” Of the choices, “feel sorry” is the weakest.

II Check the Texts

1. Acts 2:14a, 36-41

A. Peter uses Scripture to interpret the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. He treats Hebrew Scripture as though Jesus were speaking, or as though the words spoke of Jesus. Scholars today think that the early Church read Jesus back into the Scriptures. Peter outlines the key stages of Jesus’ ministry, the content of early Christian preaching, but, interestingly, says nothing about his teachings, although many in our generation view Jesus primarily as the Great Teacher.

B. John the Baptist’s call for repentance and baptism did not include the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist knew that the one after him would bring the Spirit (Matthew 3:11-12). John has Jesus giving the Spirit personally; Acts presents it as a post-Ascension event. Both agree it is a post-Easter event. (The Spirit would make Jesus’ presence alive even after his ascension to the Father.) Both connect the Spirit with forgiveness.

C. Verse 30, “for all who are far away,” includes us. Jesus makes the same point to Thomas in John’s Gospel. After Easter, the focus turns to the world mission, reaching people who never knew Jesus in person, but with whom the Lord is vitally present.

D. Lord and Messiah are the titles. “Lord” refers to the heavenly, ascended Jesus, who rules the cosmos; Christ (or, Messiah) seems to point to his earthly ministry.

E. Peter probably meant more than moral living. The “corrupt generation” belongs to this age that is dying; Peter urges uniting with Jesus, who represents God’s new age.

F. In a small city crowded beyond belief with pilgrims, where could one find means to baptize 3,000 people at one time? The Jewish baptismal practice, likely followed in the early church, involved immersion, a real washing as opposed to the frequent contemporary practice of sprinkling a few drops of water. If 3,000 were baptized, it would have taken a few days to accomplish the task.

2. 1 Peter 1:17-21

A. Responses will vary.

B. “Exile” speaks to our time on earth (exiles from heaven for the moment), but also evokes remembrance of Israel in Egypt and the desert. The REB translates this as “you must live in awe of him during your time on earth.” Recognizing our accountability to God at the end motivates Peter’s to urge us to take our baptismal life seriously. (Today many prefer to speak in terms of internal motivation. God’s grace in Christ comes to us miserable beggars, to which grace we respond gratefully and thankfully by giving our lives in love and service.)

C. “Futile ways inherited from your ancestors” is probably what Peter had in mind for “corrupt generations” -- the old era of the past. “Ransomed” suggests that we are captive, in this case captive to the devil and sin and death. From that bondage, Jesus redeemed or ransomed us.

D. We have been loved and in the Spirit given power for new depths of love. But much of that remains potential until we take the risk to exercise it. Thus, Peter needs to exhort us to test our new capacity for love. God has given us far more capacity for change and growth than we realize (or want to realize!).

E. The biblical meaning falls more to the shift in realms. We are under the sovereignty of a power; it can be God or the devil of this world. Of course, that shift implies a new beginning with God’s grace healing our past.

F. Responses will vary, but these are possibilities: a., I am an exile on this earth; b., I have been ransomed by the blood of Christ; c., I am a child of the Resurrection; d., I am a lover; and e., I am born anew to an imperishable inheritance.

3. Luke 24:13-35

A. It took place on Easter day. Probably their blindness is meant to convey the thought that without the understanding of faith, one cannot “see” the Risen Lord. Later, when Jesus helps them understand, they did see.

B. Their summary and Peter’s are much alike in outline. (Make a list of key point on chalkboard or newsprint to see the similarities.) Luke wrote both the Gospel and Acts. He captures the outline of early Christian preaching. Interestingly, these summary outlines closely resemble the framework the Gospel of Mark.

C. They expressed their hope, now shattered, for the redemption of Israel. They probably felt very discouraged and depressed. When they finally understood the Resurrection, they knew that redemption had come.

D. Jesus is said to interpret his significance by using the Hebrew Scriptures. Again, this is the approach that assumes the Hebrew Scriptures speak clearly and specifically of Jesus. More likely, the first Christiams, having understood Jesus’ significance, found references in their Scriptures (our Old Testament) that seemed to speak of him. The Acts and 1 Peter references all speak of the foreordaining and necessity of Jesus’ death as part of God’s plan, which is also expressed in verse 26.

E. “Breaking of bread” seems to be a reference to the Eucharist, where we receive in the bread the body of Christ. Faith and understanding (the work of the Holy Spirit) open our eyes to the presence of Christ in the bread as it opened the eyes of the two disciples.

III What Does It All Mean?

1. Responses will vary.

2. Responses will vary. This exercise will not be easy for many people, but encourage them, however hesitantly, to talk about their faith.

3. Responses will vary.

4. Responses will vary. Jesus reveals the Father’s true nature. What is the nature and character of God? Take a look at Jesus.

5. Easter gives hope that out of tragedy, God can bring about a new direction. Such a hope can keep us from despair.

6. Responses will vary. This may be a challenging question, but encourage folks to wrestle with it. Some will not have such experiences, but many have.

IV Into the Week

Share experiences with “Into the Week” from last session. Encourage participants to try the exercise in item #2. Invite suggestions for other ideas that will put the learning of this session into practice in the coming week.