Claimed, gathered and sent

We celebrated the Easter Vigil tonight at Grace Lutheran Church in Petersburg, WV.   I have participated in a number of Vigil services, but this is the first time I have been on the planning side. Many months ago, Pr. Larry asked Ray to do the Easter Proclamation or Exsultet part of the service, which is a lengthy chanted section. He has been rehearsing daily since that time and did a fine job tonight.  It is also the first time in several years that Grace has celebrated the Vigil. To some, it was the first time ever. Many participated in various ways to make this a rich reminder of all that God has done throughout salvation history. One of the members built the fire that began our time together. Others were lectors declaring the Word (we did only 4 Old Testament readings), others were ushers, and we had a wonderful organist as well.  It was a joyful excursion from the tomb to the celebration of resurrection. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Google Images

The text for this sermon is Luke 20:27-38a . This is my initial draft.             The Gospel of Luke continues to challenge us. Wed. morning as the pastors’ group gathered for text study, we discussed what we thought it might be like in the afterlife. What are we expecting? It was certainly different from what Jesus’ challengers anticipated. One member’s response was, “I just want some answers. I want to ask questions.” Maybe you feel the same way. The Sadducees had questions as well. Though their example seems extreme, it appears innocent enough, but we need to understand a bit of the cultural and religious dynamics of the groups Jesus encountered. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were generally at odds with each other. The Sadducees only believed in the written law in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. They did not accept the oral traditions that went along with it. Nor did they believe in the resurrection from the dead or in angels. The Pharisees on the other hand, believ