Easter 3B 2006 Luke 24:36b-48

Years ago there was a story about a man in Yugoslavia who had an unfortunate accident. He was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. His wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. She called for help, friends and neighbors, police, the whole shebang showed up. He was pronounced dead and taken to the funeral home. The local radio picked up the story and broadcast it all over the airwaves.

In the middle of the night, the judge came to. He realized where he was, and rushed over to alert the night watchman, who promptly ran off, terrified.

His first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her. But he got no further than, "Darling, it's me," when she screamed and fainted. He tried calling a couple of the neighbors but they all thought it was some sort of sick prank. He even went so far as to go to the homes of several friends but they were all sure he was a ghost. Finally, he was able to call a friend in the next town who hadn't heard of his death. This friend was able to convince his family and other friends that he really was alive. (1)

How do you prove you are still alive? Interesting question, is it not? It was Jesus’ problem. Mark’s Gospel suggest that for him and his people, the empty tomb alone sufficed. But the other gospels suggest that the evidence of the empty tomb wasn’t enough. They record that the testimony of the angels in the tomb wasn’t enough. And for people like Thomas, even the report of the other eleven disciples that they had seen the Risen Lord wasn’t enough. I’m not certain that much has changed over the centuries.

Even though Year B is the lectionary year in which we generally read the Gospel according to Saint Mark, from time to time we switch to one of the other three, For example, there are no Christmas stories in Saint Mark – it jumps right in with John the Baptist in the wilderness – no manger scene, no wise men, no angelic chorus singing in the heavens to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks. Saint Mark is a strictly just the facts sort of Gospel – it ends with the empty tomb – no other elaboration on the resurrection, no reports of resurrection experiences. For Saint Mark that was enough.

So we turn to the other gospels for reports of Jesus’ resurrection appearances. In this case we go to Saint Luke, the most complete of the synoptic gospels.

All gospels need to be understood on several levels. In our gospel lection for today, this resurrection appearance is in the context of an archetype of the Early and future Church. The disciples are gathered together in one place, even as we assemble on Sunday mornings as a community of believers, a small part of the company of all faithful believers. Disciples gathered together, then – and now.

The Good News is proclaimed, then – and now. The peace is exchanged, then – and now. A meal is eaten, then – and now. And most important of all, the Risen Lord is among them, then – and now.

This is one level of understanding.

At the same time, Luke reports a no frills, down to earth story: The disciples are hungry, so they broil fish. When the resurrected Jesus appears, they are afraid; they think he is a ghost. A human reaction – if it is a ghost, then it is only a disembodied presence that will go away perhaps. Much safer than a Risen Lord, easier to deal with, and possible to ignore.

But Jesus makes them see the Reality of the Resurrection of his body. He orders them to look at his hands and feet where the scars of the Crucifixion are still open wounds. He makes them touch him, to feel his flesh and bones. He eats food among them, with them. He tells them that the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah – the Good News – are to be taken as seriously as his Resurrection.

But even that isn’t enough. Saint Luke uses an odd turn of phrase: “in their joy they were disbelieving and wondering.” It seems to convey the sense of the question, Can this really be true? Still a question for many people if more proof is demanded.

It’s that question of the hard work of faith: Jesus’ words to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

This is not about some spiritual force, some zeitgeist; this is about a flesh and blood Savior. Whether we believe it or not, the Risen Christ stands next to us, shakes our hand, eats with us, walks with us through joy and sorrow.

The Risen Lord seems to be saying to us, “Don’t let the miracle of the Resurrection get in the way of our witness to the world; don’t let questions about the reality of the Resurrection hinder the practical reality of faith in the work I have given you to do.”

And on a deeper level, all the gospels have this message for us. To live AS IF. To live AS IF Jesus were to come and stand among at any unannounced time.

Of course the disciples were terrified. There was Peter, who had denied his Lord not once but three times to save himself. There was Thomas who had publicly declared his stubborn doubt about it all. And all of them, who had bee very conspicuously absent from the foot of the Cross. None of them had recognized their Risen Lord at first sight.

I suspect we might be terrified, too. In our comfortable lives, the sudden appearance of the Risen Christ in our midst could very well be discomfiting indeed.

Garrison Keillor once said, in one of his famous Prairie Home Companion soliloquies, "My people are not Paradise people. We've lived in Minnesota all of our lives and it has taken a lot out of us. My people aren't sure they'll even like paradise: not sure perfection is all its cracked up to be. My people will arrive in heaven and stand just inside the gate, shuffling around. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be, they might say. We'll say, "No thank you, we can't stay for eternity, we'll just sit and have a few minutes of bliss and then we have to get back!" (2)

“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

AMEN

1. From Bruce Larson, Living Beyond Our Fears (New York: Harper & Row, 1990), as quoted in eSermons illustrations for Easter 3B 2006.
2. as quoted in eSermons illustrations for Easter 3B 2006.

Wicomico Parish Church
PO Box 70
Wicomico Church, Virginia 22579