Thoughts from the Barr
"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. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Luke 24:34-38, NRSV
Gerhard Forde wrote that while many theologies place most of their emphasis on Jesus' crucifixion, to a theology of the cross, "the resurrection is all important." What that means, he goes on to say, is that one does not get what Jesus has to offer merely by accepting certain theories about the cross, but rather that all hearers are transformed from spectators to participants. Theories and stories about Jesus' resurrection are quickly overshadowed by the living Jesus walking in our gospel readings, and sharing food (Where God Meets Man: Luther's Down To Earth Approach to the Gospel, Augsburg, 1972, p.38).
Our gospel lessons through the Easter season remind us that the original disciples are every bit as human as we are. In the above reading, even though the disciples had just been talking about Jesus' resurrection, his real presence among them seems to frighten them. Doubt, fear, and disbelief are all present in Jesus real presence. In other words, when the disciples are unsure what to make of the mess that life has become, Jesus shows up speaking words of peace and often, mission. Jesus pointed the disciples back in the right direction, to follow his way of being in the world by feeding folks, proclaiming forgiveness, and basically mirroring his light in our dark places.
I suspect that people still struggle with Jesus' real presence among us. We speak of it in the Sacraments, and throughout the liturgy. "This is my body and blood given for you." In response to our doubts and fears, Jesus feeds us. Jesus proclaims that we are forgiven by his own doing, not our own. Jesus then sends us out in mission to carry that message of good news into our daily lives. Maybe that's why we fear Jesus' presence. Maybe, we're concerned that Jesus will ask us to go somewhere or to do something that is uncomfortable to us, or unsettling. On the surface, he does exactly that.
We've been practicing in worship, "witnessing" to where we've seen Jesus in our lives. It seems to me that we've become more comfortable in our sharing, and I hope and pray that we are able to carry that same confidence out into the world. Sometimes, "being a friend" allows us the privilege of sharing our personal faith stories one on one. Ultimately, we hope that our friends will begin to share their faith stories, or their doubts, with us. Our gospel readings remind us that that is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus shared his faith, his understanding of the scriptures, and proclaimed a word of peace and forgiveness to his friends. It seems to me that Jesus is still pointing us in that same direction. Jesus is still encouraging us to share our faith stories, bring a word of peace, and basically follow his way of being in the world, wherever our world may lead us.
Peace,
Pastor Ernie +
