St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Welland, Ontario, Canada

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Attendance today ->12  – last year 17

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Transcript of Gospel and Sermon

Worship Guide

Sixth Sunday of Easter May 10, 2026

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you hold together all things in heaven and on earth. In your great mercy receive the prayers of all your children, and give to all the world the Spirit of your truth and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: John 14:15-21 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

SERMON
“When the power of love replaces the love of power, the world will know peace.”. Those words have been said by people ranging from Eastern mystics to members of British Parliament to Jimmy Hendrix. Pick your provenance.

The idea behind these words pairs nicely with Jesus’ words that love produces obedience to God’s design—It’s best to read those words about commandment keeping as since/then more than if/then.

The world we live in like that of Hendrix, Gladstone, the first disciples revolves around love of power. Jesus forms and shapes a community aspiring toward the power of love—and he promises that the Spirit of God will come along side us.

We can make a connection between Jesus’ promise to his followers to the Creed we have spoken together over the Easter Season.

That Third section might sound like a laundry list of stuff we believe. Imagine if we reframe those words around what the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus…the Spirit always with us DOES when we say we believe in one Holy Catholic and apostolic church.

To put it in Luther’s words, the Spirit will call, gather and enlighten and bring wholeness to the Christian church. Let’s unpack a bit more and while we do think about that word love, mentioned some fifty times in John’s Gospel.

The idea of holiness isn’t dashboard saint squeaky cleanliness. Holiness has always meant whole-ness or integrated completeness. My experience has been that holiness often means at least as much UN-learning as learning. The church became more holy in my lifetime when it repudiated teachings that put others down…like the infamous doctrine of discovery that held that only with the arrival of white European colonizers did God’s presence come to where we now live. The observing of Red Dress day is one small step toward solidarity with our indigenous siblings—the long and hard work of reconciliation may well be the church’s life long journey of repentance and of growing holy and in love.

We say we believe in a catholic church which means a people of all places and times. And an apostolic church literally means a church sent to carry on Jesus’ work of being present in the world and loving it and blessing it.

For now, let’s conclude where we began…Jesus says that love produces obedience to the commandments….and scripture also says the greatest commandment is love. Love of God. Love for neighbour. May God’s presence in the church and among us lead us all toward a life where a love of power is replaced by the power of love. Amen.

Attendance 15 – last year -> 15

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Worship Guide

Fifth Sunday of Easter May 3, 2026

Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Give us grace to love one another, to follow in the way of his commandments, and to share his risen life with all the world, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: John 14:1-14 [Jesus said to the disciples:] 1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

Sermon: If we ask anything in Jesus name, he will do it. As often happens to many people in John’s Gospel, we also frequently get the wrong end of the stick. “fer instance”….. We were visiting a home where the TV was airing a sermon from a glitzy evangelist who was telling the faithful that he believed the Lord wanted him to have a motorcycle. Was it sour grapes on my part to exit the room at that moment muttering under my breath that maybe the Lord could toss in a helmet and protective leather gear as part of the deal? The tv preacher said he prayed in Jesus’ name—so does that a bike to appear in his driveway? By the way, does Jesus approve of Hondas, Ducattis or Harleys?

You might have seen the cartoon where a ravenous bear is chasing a rabbit…the rabbit prays “deliver me from evil” and the bear prays “bless this meal, O Lord”—Whose prayer does God answer? The ones with the words in Jesus’ name?

The levity takes a darker turn when wars are waged and justified as God’s plan—maybe we quote scripture, or the movie Pulp Fiction in hopes God will bring the result we want.

Nearly a quarter century ago, the US voted to declare war in Iraq after the planes crashed into the World Trade Centre. Predictably, the rhetoric was all about “God on our side”. An artist from South America painted a work with scenes of war and a caption reading, “Not in MY name”.

To pray in Jesus’ name doesn’t change God’s mind. It changes ours. It changes our hearts too. When Jesus speaks to his followers, he reminds them that his death is near and that one in their midst would betray him. THEN he says “You all—all y’all, let not your heart be troubled”. In other words, don’t lose your collective sense of purpose. Carry on.

The venerable preacher Fred Craddock outlines three promises Jesus makes to his beleaguered community…one that seemed ready to collapse— Don’t lose heart because…

1. Don’t lose heart, all, y’all, because abiding places Jesus speaks of mean that God guarantees an unbreakable bond with us both now and beyond this life. That bond also holds for the world God so loves.

2. Don’t lose heart, all y’all, because the way to God is sure and clear —God makes it so even when we get lost in double meanings about ways, places and paths.

3.Finally don’t lose heart, all y’all, because the faithful relationship that God establishes and vouchsafes empowers us to carry on the work of Jesus.

These promises become the foundation for our prayers and the actions that come from them. To pray in Jesus’ name means we follow this Good Shepherd—this one who says he is the Way, Truth and Life.

We trust and we learn to pray for things that are consistent what Jesus teaches and how he lived his life.

In times of war we might prayerfully remember Jesus the night he was arrested telling Peter to drop his weapon.

In the face of injustice we might remember Jesus table tossing indignation about abuses of power.

In the face of need we might remember Jesus finding a way to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and welcome the outcast. May we pray and may we prayerfully live in the name of Jesus…the one who embodies love for the world. Amen.

Attendance today ->13 last year->14

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Fourth Sunday of Easter April 26, 2026

Prayer of the Day
O God our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: John 10:1-10 [Jesus said:] 1 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

SERMON
Some religious people speak about God’s maddening penchant for being indirect— Jesus shares a family trait here. My brother would call such indirection “taking the long way around the barn”. Jesus’ opponents express exasperation when they press him on whether or not he’s the Messiah—-“just tell us plainly, already”, they say.

Jesus’ followers like Nicodemus (well, eventually) and the disciples don’t get all the figures of speech Jesus relies on to describe who he is and what he’s about.

The occasional pastor, like this morning’s preacher, gets a bit flummoxed too— Are we talking shepherds here or are we talking gates? Who are these thieves and robbers?

Since we’re in the season of Easter, let’s look at Jesus’ words through the lens of the resurrection. After Jesus has been raised from the dead his people don’t recognize him. Hardly surprising because in our experience the dead stay. The last person people expect to see is Jesus.

Mary Magdalene’s new life as the first preacher and evangelist comes when she hears Jesus call her by name.

Jesus walks through a locked door and breathes a spirit of peace upon his fearful followers.

Jesus shows Thomas his wounds—well he offers to. We really don’t know if Thomas takes him up on that.

On the road to Emmaus (the story from Luke’s Gospel) Jesus teaches two of his followers—they figure he’s not from these parts so isn’t up on current events. That night he accepts their kind offer of hospitality—and he breaks bread and blesses it and suddenly the travellers know exactly who this companion is.

What Jesus says and does after the resurrection might remind us of things he did and said before the resurrection.

He calls Lazarus by name and the man comes back to life.

If you were to read today’s Gospel reading and leaf back a page or two you would find the story of Jesus healing this person blind from birth. Jesus speaks, saying “wash the paste from your eyes and you will see”. The person might have thought someone was pranking him. Instead he hears and follows. When some religious experts grill him about who did the healing the person doesn’t really know; all he knows is some guy put a mud paste on his eyes, told him to wash it off—All he knows is that he started they day like every other in his life with unseeing eyes. Now he sees. Go figure. How truly sad that in response the religious experts write him off calling him an irredeemable sinner.

Jesus words about shepherding, thievery and about being the gate to abundant life immediately follow the healing story story, which ends with a dust up between Jesus and these judgy religious leaders—the ones who don’t see newly sighted person as a person—they just slap the label “sinner” on him and effectively swipe left so they don’t have to deal with him. Jesus sees a human being made in God’s image who suffers, who is excluded and judged—Jesus heals the person’s brings him into his community.

A few years back a Christian denomination in the U.S. called the United Church of Christ put out banners saying “God still speaks”. More now than ever we pray that God still speaks. We pray that the risen Christ still speaks, summoning us by name and calling us to follow in God’s work of blessing and loving the world.

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Attendance today ->8 – last year ->19

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Third Sunday of Easter April 19, 2026

Prayer of the Day
O God, your Son makes himself known to all his disciples in the breaking of bread. Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35
13 Now on that same day two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 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?” 19 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, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 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. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 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. 24 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.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 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. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight. 32 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?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

SERMON
When monks at a monastery I visited a couple of times would see a guest or a stranger approaching, someone would kick off an inside joke muttering, “Oh, Jesus…it’s you.” Sometimes a little humour names the risk of opening yourself to the unknown. Sometimes a little humour reminds us to anticipate the surprising ways Jesus makes himself known to us now.

Faith communities inherit a tradition of welcoming the stranger that goes back at least to Abram and Sarai when they welcomed two messengers. Sometimes hospitality is risky because it can upend your life. Just ask Abraham and Sarah who become parents years after they started collecting their pensions. Just ask Cleopas and another Jesus-follower, not named in Luke’s Gospel.

Cleopas and his companion walk home, unsure how they’ll put their lives together now that their teacher is gone. A stranger engages them asking, “what’s happening”? The disciples’ automatically assume this fellow traveller is the only stranger in these parts. Evidently he hasn’t heard about the collusion between the empire and some religious leaders that brought about the public execution of Jesus. Has this person from another place heard that any hopes for God’s redeeming died with Jesus?

The stranger doesn’t argue— he does provide perspective by outlining the continuity recent events have with this Jesus person—going back to the liberation from Egypt, the giving of the law and the witness of the prophets. One just hopes that along the long walk, Roman sympathizers or officials aren’t overhearing what Jesus is telling them.

Seven miles of subversive talk later, the trio arrives at Emmaus. At first it looks like the trio will part company there. However it’s getting dark, making travel much riskier with predators both two and four legged emerging with nightfall. Cleopas and the other disciple take the risk of persuading this stranger, to stay with them and share a meal. Their master, Jesus would have done as much.

They recline at table, which is partly why hospitality is so remarkable; it’s intimate as people eat together in close quarters. Then things get weird. The stranger who becomes the host—he takes bread, blesses it and breaks it.

This was no stranger—maybe they recognized how Jesus often shared bread with all sorts of people. You might know that the word companion comes from the latin and literally means to share bread with another. Luke’s Gospel presents sharing of meals as central to Jesus’ ministry and identity. A professor of ours liked to say that the reason it takes Jesus and the disciples so long to get to Jerusalem was because they were always stopping to eat! Those stops were not pauses. Those stops were the living out of Jesus’ radical hospitality. Those embody God’s love to all in the here and now—or as Luke puts it often, “today”.

Did Cleopas and the other Jesus follower even eat the bread Jesus broke and blessed before dashing out at night to leg it another seven back to Jerusalem?

Some would say that Cleopas and the unnamed disciple are a microcosm of the church—We struggle when hope is dashed…we ask hard questions….we seek perspective and continuity to our tradition and the witness of the faithful who have gone before us. We welcome the stranger. We share bread. And in rare moments of clarity we might say, “Jesus, was that you just now?”