An Easter Sighting of the Risen Christ

April 15, 2018 Luke 24: 36-48 An Easter sighting of The Risen Christ Year B 3rd Sunday After Easter Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the need in our lives to have God's power at all times in our life. Prop: A heavy winter coat you can wear. Lesson: [If you can wear the coat over your robe put it on and act as though it's cold.] Burr, I'm glad I have this coat. (response) Its so cold I think its going to snow! (response) What? (response) What are you laughing about? (response) It's hot? (response) It is? (response) You mean I don't need this coat? (response) Take the coat off hold and hold it in your hands. Your right it's not really cold outside. What time of year do I need a coat like this? (winter) That's right. I don't need it in the summer because it's not the right time of year. We have winter clothes and we have summer clothes don't we? (response) There are some clothes that we wear all year round. Can you name some? (response) If the kids don't name "socks" then you name it (For the women who are not wearing socks use your shoes). Application: I guess I need to put away this coat until fall when it starts to get cold again. Showing the kids your socks Should I put away my socks too? (response) Well, the Holy Spirit is kind of like these socks. When it's summer and hot outside we don't put away our socks until next winter do we? (response) No, we need our socks all year round. And, we need the Holy Spirit all year round. Jesus told his disciples they were going to be "clothed with power from on high." They were going to be clothed with the power of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind of like a heavy coat. When we need strength and power in our lives we can put it around us and God will give us comfort. But the Holy Spirit is also like my socks. We always need the Holy Spirit. We always need the power God gives us to live. ChristianGlobe, , by Brett Blair Luke 24:36-48 Common English Bible (CEB) Jesus appears to the disciples 36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified and afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.”40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 Because they were wondering and questioning in the midst of their happiness, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish. 43 Taking it, he ate it in front of them. 44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible When I travelled to Israel in seminary in 1992, I learned a lot from my first trip out of the country. I learned a lot about myself, and about my faith. There are two earthshattering experiences that stand out for me that really challenged me. The first was on the first evening that we had arrived and we had orientation on our work. I remember staring at the instructor in disbelief, I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent person, but it never occurred to me that an archeological dig was something that you had to do in the ground, with dirt. I was mortified, because unless there was a miracle, I was not going to have anything to do with dirt. And sure enough, everyone else got up at 5am to get dressed, and trek a mile up a hill to work on the site. Luckily for me, I was sick everyday for two weeks, so that I could stay in bed. We, or they worked undigging the sight during the week. And on weekends were visited various sites around the country. On our first weekend, we went to Jerusalem. Within the larger city is the old city of Jerusalem, where Jesus would have walked. The old city is strictly a tourist sight. And most of the storekeepers are Palestinian Christians. At that time, the 4th of every month was intifada where that Palestinians were supposed to close their businesses in protest. But it turned out that they were so desparate for our tourist dollars, they were secretly opened for us. As you walk down the streets that Jesus was supposed to have travelled to the cross, you are bombarded by vendor after vendor wanting you to buy in their store. The journey through the stations of the cross is not a historical experience of what happened to Jesus, it is a recreation of the stations created by the catholic church. The church of the holy sepulcher, which has the sites of the cross and burial cave are inside. The best way to describe the experience is it is like being in Christian Disneyland. You stand in lines in order to see these holy sights. And then you get to touch the place that might have been calvary, then stand next to a picture of Mary to take a picture. In the highlight of the experience, you stand in line for over 30 minutes. They give you a candle, and you are allowed into the cave where Jesus may have been buried 10 at a time. A priest lights your candle, tells the story of the resurrection and says a prayer. It was the end of a very distressing day. As I sat in the cave, looking at the place where Jesus may have been laid, I remember thinking this is the biggest crock of mess that I have ever seen in my life. There is no way that a man laid in this place and died and just magically arose and came back to life. There is no way anyone who died came come back to life. Luckilly I did not have a lot of time to dwell on that thought, because after the prayer, they kick you out and lead you out of the church, so that the next ten people can have their chance to pray. Belief in the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith as Christians. But being faced with a real place where that could have happened- made it even harder to understand. Luckily, that was just the end of a strange experience. But it didn’t make me question my faith, it drew me to ask more questions and to learn more about the story. Years later, I have more questions about resurrection than answers. There are things that I still can’t explain about what happened to Jesus. But today, after 22 years of being in ministry, I have learned that they are many strange things happening in the relationship between life and death. It is a normal part of my job to deal with that relationship and to guide families through that journey. The more that I experience in life, the less I question the resurrection. I am comfortable with it being a mystery. All four gospels accounts mention sightings of Jesus Christ after the resurrection. In each account, the man that they see after resurrection is not quite the same man that died on the cross. In each resurrection sighting, the person who know Jesus does not recognize him. But in each account Jesus comes to those who know him and speak to them. When people die, accounts of them reappearing is well documented. It is a spiritual phenomenom. As a matter of fact, it is not strange for parishioners to visit me as they are making their transitions. For years I have talked to families who told me the time that someone died, and I can remember back and remember thinking of that person at that very moment. I still vividly remember the dream that I had of the ancestors coming to get my sister, only to learn that she had died that night in her sleep. So as I experience more about life, I no longer question whether it is possible for a man to die and to come back to life. The relationship between life and death is a very real mystery. But in our story in Luke, Jesus goes through lengths to show people that he is not a spirit, that he is real. He shows them his hands and his feet. This story takes place after the walk to Emmaus. When he appears, not only does he challenge his friends to touch his hands and feet, he also asks for something to eat. Spirits don’t have flesh and bones, and they don’t eat fish. Scripture says that he enjoyed a whole meal with them and taught them many things over the meal. So it is official – church potlucks are holy meals that have been ordained by Christ. But being that Luke was a doctor, he teaches us another important lesson. That believing in the resurrection is not a spiritual experience, it is a real, physical experience. It is not about what goes on in our heads, it is about how we live and treat real people. Sermon Opener – See My Hands and Feet - Luke 24:36b-48 Tolstoy once told a story of a Czar and Czarina who wished to honor the members of their court with a banquet. They sent out invitations and requested that the guests come with the invitations in their hands. When they arrived at the banquet the guests were surprised to discover that the guards did not look at their invitations at all. Instead they examined their hands. The guests wondered about this, but they were also curious to see who the Czar and Czarina would choose as the guest of honor to sit between them at the banquet. They were flabbergasted to see that it was the old scrub woman who had worked to keep the palace clean for years. The guards, having examined her hands, declared, "You have the proper credentials to be the guest of honor. We can see your love and loyalty in your hands." A similar story is told of the great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson. Judson went to the King of Burma to ask him if he might have permission to go to a certain city to preach. The King, a pagan, but quite an intelligent man responded, "I'm willing for a dozen preachers to go but not you, not with those hands. My people are not such fools as to take notice of your preaching but they will note those calloused, work scarred hands." After his crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus were trying to sort out the meaning of the reports they had been receiving about appearances of the risen Christ. It was most confusing to them. Was it a hoax? They were not completely immune to superstition. Perhaps it was some kind of ghost. Suddenly it happened. Jesus himself stood among them. The disciples were startled and frightened. Then Jesus said to them, "Why are you troubled and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself..." The response of the disciples is a sermon in itself. Luke tells us that they "disbelieved for joy..." It was simply too wonderful to be true. He was alive and he was with them right there. No wonder they had difficulty believing. Some persons still have that problem today. Many desperately want to believe but something holds them back. "See my hands and my feet..." 1. It Is Difficult to Believe God Cares That Much. 2. It Is Difficult to Believe Life Goes on Beyond the Tomb. 3. We Have Trouble Processing the Implications of These Two Truths. We are the hands and feet of Christ. Scripture says that what we will be is not known, but when it becomes obvious we will be just like Christ. But further in Luke he also says that when we do for others in the world, that it is not us, but the spirit in us. Jesus told his disciples to wait for his power, then to go out and change the world. When we embrace the resurrection, and we can feel the presence of God in our lives, we have the power to make a difference. Luke teaches us not to look for Christ in the spiritual world, but to look for him in the people around us. Spirits don’t ask for something to eat, but people do. We really do need to break bread with those around us, work the transform the lives of those around us. God with Us Wheaton Webb tells about a time when a stranger approached him and asked, "You couldn't let a man have a dollar for a meal?" A group of people was about to eat a potluck supper, so the pastor invited the man, who had the look of one who hadn't had a good meal for some time, to join them; they sat down at the end of one of the tables by themselves. "How long have you been on the road?" asked Webb. "A long time, a very long time," came the answer. "And it never occurred to you to settle down and take some steady work?" "No," the man replied, "I used to be a carpenter. But I'm one of those who has to be on his way. I'd never be happysettled in just one place." Webb comments: "It was odd the way he said it - like the wayfarer who visited Emmaus and who made as if he would have gone further until Cleopas and his companion (in the earlier episode) invited him to stay for supper." Webb asked him his name and he answered, "Mr. Immanuel." As we know, Immanuel means "God-with-us." Wheaton Webb concludes the story this way: "Presently he said his thanks and was off on his lonely journey that has no ending. And I thought: He still goes on his way, the hungry man, Mr. God-with-us, in his shabby coat, and always a look in his eyes as if he would go further. But when he had gone, my heart began to burn within me, and I had no doubt that Cleopas and his companion, in that silence that suddenly fell over their table, would have understood."41 So would the eleven on the occasion when Jesus asked for something to eat, and so do we when the Lord occasionally appears in others who come to our tables hungry and lonely. Instead of getting stuck on whether the resurrections makes sense to us, if we want to see the resurrected Christ, we have to be present to those around us. When we are able to be present, we can be a witness to Christ in spite of our questions, doubts and fears. The spirit works through our actions to change the world. Walking the Walk A Civil War chaplain approached a wounded soldier on the battlefield and asked if he'd like to hear a few verses from the Bible. The wounded man said, "No, I'm so thirsty, I'd rather have some water." The chaplain gave him a drink, and then repeated his question. "No sir, not now – but could you put something under my head?" The chaplain did so, and again repeated his question. "No," said the soldier, "I'm cold. Could you cover me up?" The chaplain took off his inside coat and wrapped the soldier. Afraid to ask, he did not repeat his question. He made to go away, but the soldier called him back. "Look, Chaplain, if there's anything in that book of yours that makes a person do for another what you've done for me, then I want to hear it." Carlos Wilton, via PresbyNet, "Sermonshop 04 17 1994," #5, 4/12/94 In the coming days, as others can see Christ in us, let us be able to see Christ in them. Christ the lord has risen today – really. Let us pray… With Your Eyes Open to the Grace of God There is a neighborhood grocery store in our fairly affluent town that is visited each morning by the same clearly non-affluent person. We will call her "Ruth," and she is a street person. She enters the grocery about 11 a.m. every day and makes her way through the aisles. There is no polite way to describe what she does: Ruth steals food. Each morning she gathers enough for her lunch, poking pieces of fruit, loaves of bread, wedges of cheese, or a can of meat under her torn and stained coat. She then glides out the door. But she is not very subtle about it. Everyone at the store can see what she does. The stockroom crew know she is taking food; the butcher sees her activity; the checkout clerks are aware of her pilfering; the manager knows what she is about. Not long ago, this grocery moved several blocks away to a larger building. The week they moved to the new location, the store manager telephoned a downtown pastor. "I don't want to embarrass Ruth," he began, "so would you please find her and tell her where we've moved. I want to be sure she can find us." There in the city is a parable of mercy. An urban grocery store owner wants to be sure a homeless woman, a woman very much unlike the owner, can nonetheless find food, and for disciples with discerning eyes, there is much to learn here about the power of God in the world. "Stay in the city with your eyes open to the grace of God," the disciples are told, "and you will receive power." Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing Touch Sanctifies Memory Touch sanctifies memory. I have a favorite cup for my morning coffee. It was my mother’s long before it was mine. For years it had its place on the kitchen window sill in my boyhood home. The chip is still on the rim, reminding me of the horseplay my sister and I enjoyed in a time when kids actually washed and dried dishes. My mother’s hands have long since relinquished that flowered coffee cup, but because she was all that she was to me, I can hold it and remember. We do well to gather our memories around things we can touch, especially baptismal water and the bread and wine of the Easter meal. These sustain us as we journey, hand in hand, with the whole company of the faithful, toward the eternal Easter yet to come. F. Dean Leuking, "Touch and See," article in The Christian Century April 2, 1997 p. 337 The Forgiveness Business I have frequently quoted Robert Capon's comments that the church is not in the morals business. The world does a pretty good job of that. What the world can't get right is the forgiveness business which is the church's proper job. From a slightly different angle, he writes in Between Noon and Three: Morality, by its very nature, must be concerned with norms, with standards; whereas grace, by definition, is concerned with persons: it is a refusal to allow the standards to become the basis of their reconciliation or condemnation. Thus the conflict: morality tells you the standard you need to meet in order to be properly alive; grace tells you that all you ultimately need is to be dead – which is either the world's lowest standard or no standard at all. Grace and morality, therefore, are two different kettles of fish. Morality deals with virtue and vice, with what is strengthening or weakening for human nature considered as an operational possibility. Grace, however, deals with sin, with a condition in which human nature has ceased to be an operational possibility and has ended up a lost cause. Grace is, to say it once again, about raising the dead. In the Bible the opposite of sin is not virtue; it is faith – faith in God who raises the dead. All this talk about morality, therefore, is misleading. When we get far enough into it we begin to convince ourselves that the preaching of the moral law will, if done energetically enough, lead people to lead good lives and so make them more like what they ought to be. But that's not biblical. St. Paul says that the purpose of the law was not to do that at all, but to bring us to the awareness of sin. We sit here talking as if proper moral instruction to fifteen-year-olds will somehow keep them clear of sin. But St. Paul says that Scripture has concluded – locked up – all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. [pp. 157-8] The goal of our preaching is not more moral behaviors, but forgiveness. I have often said that the primary purpose of sermons is absolution. While there may be instructions, and illustrations, and jokes, etc., if the forgiveness of sins through Jesus is not proclaimed in some way, I think that the sermon (and the church) has failed in its God-given purpose. Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes The Urgency of the Task Luiqi Tarisio was found dead one morning with hardly any creature comforts in his home, except the presence of 246 exquisite violins. He had been collecting them all his life. They were all stored in the attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of all that music. Much of that collection was owned by others before him who had done the same. So that when the greatest of his collection, a Stradivarius, was first played it had had 147 speechless years. How many of Christ's people are like old Tarisio? In our very love of the church we fail to give the glad tidings to the world; in our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it. When shall we all learn that the Good News needs not just to be cherished, but needs to be told? Don't bury God's Good News of Easter at the bottom of a rickety old bureau. Let the people hear the great sound of the music: He is Risen! Adapted from James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Wheaton: Tyndale, 1988, p. 492. George M. Bass, The Tree, The Tomb, And The Trumpet, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.