Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Our journey through Holy Week ends today with Easter Monday.

During this last week, we have presented a special set of podcasts that have traced the events of Holy Week. Our journey ends today with Easter Monday and the story of a post-resurrection appearance of Christ. Thank you for joining us.

The 24th chapter of the Gospel of Luke describes a mysterious journey on the day of Jesus' resurrection. The story begins in verse 13.

Cleopas and his friend were believers. They saw Jesus's actions, heard his words, and felt firsthand Jesus's love for them and for all the people he encountered. Surely, this was the Messiah. Surely, he was the one who would redeem Israel from Roman oppression. He had to be the one - how could he not be?

But a week after Jesus came to Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to the cheers of the crowd, and three days after they watched Jesus die, they were headed for home, dejected, weary, and heartbroken. Jesus of Nazareth wasn't the Messiah. He was just another false prophet. It was time to get back to the real world and start over.

They discussed the events while they were walking.

They just wanted to get home, but this stranger who joined them would not stop talking. They weren't sure where this guy came from, but he seemed oblivious to the past few days' events. How could he not have heard about all this? Nevertheless, they told the stranger about Jesus, his trial, and his execution.

But rather than just listening, the stranger talked back. He called them foolish and began to tell them about Moses and the prophets, quoting from the Holy Scriptures. Who was this man?

The more the man talked, the more interested they became. He explained to them that all of Israel's history and all the scriptures pointed to a Messiah and that the Messiah had to die just the way Jesus died. They started to understand. Could they be wrong? Was Jesus the Messiah?

Before they knew it, they were home. The stranger turned to the road to continue on his way, but they urged him to come home with them. They wanted to hear more. They asked the stranger to stay for dinner, and he accepted.

The stranger was a very much alive Jesus, and he had given them the best bible lesson in history. He explained to them the truth of the Messiah and showed them that he was the deliverer of not only Israel but the world.

The story ends with the two men "rushing" the seven miles back to Jerusalem and seeking out the eleven apostles to tell them what happened to them.

This scripture passage is an account of one of the many post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. It is fascinating and mysterious, and for me, it raises many questions. The most important question is how this applies to us today.

These two men were headed for home in Emmaus. Emmaus was a retreat from their disappointment and heartbreak. They felt like Jesus had let them down when, in fact, they misunderstood his life and his...

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast written and produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

Today is Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. It is the most important and most joyous day in the Christian calendar, and we are happy that you have joined us today.

The first Easter morning did not start with celebrations of Hallelujah! It began with sadness, followed by fear and confusion. A group of women went to tend to Jesus’ grave, still grieving from the horror of his crucifixion and likely in fear of encountering Roman soldiers at the tomb. On arrival, they found the stone rolled away and an empty tomb…Jesus’ body was gone. If that did not put them into shock, their encounter with an Angel, described as the appearance of lightning and clothes as white as snow must have completely frightened them. Then we hear the Angel speak:

He (Jesus) has risen, just as He said! Come and see for yourself and then go witness to the disciples. In fear and joy, the women delivered the message.

Jesus had risen, just as He said! And having appeared to the disciples, they too were charged to go and be a witness.

In 1739, Charles Wesley penned a hymn that has been sung during Easter services for the last 286 years.

In the last two thousand years since that first Easter, how many times have people encountered the risen Jesus, and having believed gone out to be a witness. I am one of them. On this Easter morning, I join with countless Christians to celebrate the risen Christ, to sing Hallelujah, praises to God. I celebrate the witnesses in my life, my parents and a faith community that led me to a relationship with Christ, accepting Jesus as the Savior who died on a cross for my sins. On this Easter morning and every Easter morning, we celebrate Christ the Lord has risen today.

When we sing our Hallelujahs, we provide a witness to others that Jesus has risen, just as He said. We are Easter people, we witness to the risen Christ who is still with us today. Hallelujah!

This devotion was written and read by Owen Ragland.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

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Holy Saturday

Welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast written and produced by the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us today. This is Holy Week, a time when Christians everywhere observe the days leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. This week, we present a special set of podcasts that day by day, trace the activities and words of Jesus during this time. Again, thank you for joining us on this journey.

Holy Saturday, the day between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, is the day Jesus is in the tomb. Does this “in between” times have anything to tell us? To get at the answer to this question we need to go back to that Saturday and look at what the people who knew Jesus were doing.

The Gospels have different accounts. In Matthew, whose scripture we read, the focus is on the Chief Priest and the Pharisees. They are at Pilate’s house, demanding that a guard be placed at the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing the body and saying he rose from the dead. In Luke we have the women who had been with him, even at the foot of the cross, preparing spices so they could finish the embalming process once the Sabbath was over. In Mark and John there is silence about this day but later in John we are told that the disciples were in hiding behind locked doors, fearful that the authorities who had put Jesus to death would come for them.

I call all of these “tomb moments.” It is a time of endings and death. A time seemingly void of hope and possibilities. Remember, for these first disciples there was no Easter, just the stark reality that their beloved teacher and friend had been cruelly put to death.

When we pause to reflect, we realize that we all have our tomb moments. These are times of great loss, disappointment and grief. Life, as we know it is no longer a possibility and what is to come is unknown, often unwanted and possibly frightening. This is a time of acute grief.

The first day after a great loss can be almost worse than the day it happened. This day you wake up for the first time knowing a void that will never be filled. Whether that void is due to a death, loss of a job, or the ending of a dream, you know that your life has forever changed and there is no going back.

How do you live during tomb moments? The women highlight one approach in there preparing spices for the embalming. They were focussing on the loss, trying to process it by putting all their mental energy towards funeral preparations. This is a common expression of grief. You know that a new day has dawned but you are not ready to deal with it.

Others, like the male disciples, can be filled with fear about the unknowns ahead. We accept the loss, but it leaves us with a jumble of emotions, from anger at the person we love dying, to fear as to what we are going to do and what our future might look like, to helplessness because it all feels so overwhelming. The Pharisees and Chief Priest give us one more approach, proclaiming that new life is an impossibility. And doing everything in their power to resist moving forward in life.

Yes, we have our tomb moments. We see our actions and feelings mirrored...