Luke 24:36-48 Panzer Liturgical Chapel
This week, this film canister became a valuable reminder of the resurrection. Once upon a time, we took film pictures, and, using light and electrons, they were burned onto the negatives. Maybe we remembered what pictures we would find, but until the film cartridge was opened and the film processed and pictures printed, we didn’t understand fully the beauty or reality of the images we took. It’s only in the aftermath that they all made sense.
I think the same is true with our understanding of the resurrected Christ. Jesus’ resurrection is revealed in the days after his first appearance, much like a canister of undeveloped film. The resurrection isn’t just the thing that happened in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning. Resurrection can only be understood in the ways Jesus is encountered in all the days that followed, even today.
When we think of resurrection sightings, we think first of Easter morning, Mary and the disciples hurrying to the tomb to prepare his body for burial. But we have already seen in the last couple of weeks that Jesus is much more available than we remember. On Easter Sunday, we saw Mark’s account of Jesus’ resurrection, as recounted by the angel sitting where Jesus had been laid. Last week, we heard of Jesus appearing to the disciples and of Thomas’ need for his own “Jesus” experience.
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| Resurrection witness |
Theologian Stanley Hauerwas wrote a wonderful book called The Peaceable Kingdom where he defined the defining mark of the Christian community. He writes:
The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate sign that our salvation comes only when we cease trying to interpret Jesus' story in the light of our history, and instead, we interpret ourselves in the light of his. For this is no dead Lord we follow but a living God, who having dwelt among us as an individual, is now eternally present to us making possible our living as forgiven agents of God’s new creation.[i]
He wants us to confront the question, “What do we believe about Jesus?” not as an intellectual or emotional exercise, but by looking at how we live our lives. Does knowing Jesus change us? Do people see the differences between those who claim Jesus and those who do not? Are we giving Jesus a good name?
As we meet the disciples today, they are confused and grief-stricken. They are wandering around, unsure what to do next, which is exactly how each of us acts when we encounter death and tragedy. And so, when the two disciples encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus and then recognize him in the sharing of a simple meal, it feels miraculous. So they do what we would expect. They set out immediately (gr. “the same hour”) to return to Jerusalem to share the good news with those gathered – Jesus appeared to them. But even when Jesus later joined those gathered in Jerusalem, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
Jesus, understanding their
doubt, invites them to touch his body and then asks for something to eat. Luke
is greatly aware that his Greek readers were skeptical about such a thing as
rising from the dead. Jesus is offered some fish and eats it as a sign that he
is truly himself. Ghosts don’t have bodies nor do they eat.
Jesus concludes this appearance with evidence from Scripture. The law, the
Prophets and the Psalms all speak of the Servant having to suffer, die and
rise. This Good News affirms Jesus as the Messiah and promises forgiveness of
sins, news that must be shared. Transformation is at hand. Those who have seen
Jesus’ risen Body are now to become a part of this Body by living His life and
giving His life to the world.[ii]
We don’t understand the resurrection. There were no witnesses, no first-hand accounts, no explanation by the risen Jesus as to what actually happen. In his book, The Universal Christ, Father Richard Rohr brings a decidedly 21st-century vibe to the discussion as he describes the resurrection as a sort of Einsteinian warping of time and space, releasing Jesus’ relevance for humanity and us as “ubiquitous (or constant), personal, and attractive for those who are willing to meet Reality through him”.[iii] In other words, the resurrection makes Jesus available to everyone.
Jesus appears to the many in the days after his resurrection, and while it seems the same – he has a body, people can touch him, he eats and drinks and breathes on them – they also know that he is not the same at all. Through their encounters with the risen and glorified Jesus, people’s lives were reoriented – refocused – repurposed. No matter how it happened, Jesus’ resurrection makes a lasting impact on the world. The rational thinker in us may want to know how to explain it, but in the end, it remains a mystery, reminding us that our faith is defined by our willingness to believe even what we don’t understand.
So, what do we learn from this encounter with Jesus? First, it’s a reminder that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures – he came to live, to suffer, and to die. Perhaps this is Jesus telling them that everything he experienced was not in vain. Alone, this doesn’t feel like good news.
Fortunately, there is a
second part to Jesus’ message – an assurance that death is not the end of the
story. Jesus fulfilled scripture by being raised on the third day. It was no
mistake, no accident, no coincidence – Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection
fulfilled what had been prophesied of years before. Jesus did not list these
chapter and verse but alludes to many references to the Son of Man being
lifted up on the third day. This is a significant chain of events. So much so,
that my Lutheran preaching professor taught us that Jesus had to live, die, and
be raised from the dead in every sermon. “If you don’t remind of this them
every week, they might think we’re just here for the coffee.”
The third part of Jesus’ message is the
necessity of passing this message of repentance and forgiveness on to others. If
we compare translations of this verse or dig into the Greek of the passage, this
phrase has a little more nuance as we think about the connecting words. We see
the word, “and” and think of it as a simple + sign – putting two like things
together. But the translation of the Greek word “eis” means something more… it’s not just about addition but is really a movement towards or into. It can refer to going to or into some place,
but it can also refer to the movement towards a specific goal. Thus, the phrase
can be translated: "repentance leading to the forgiveness of
sins."
This emphasizes that Lucan message that the
goal or purpose of proclaiming repentance is that sins might be forgiven. Another
good clue is that every time hamartia (= "sin") is used in
Luke, it is coupled with apheimi (= "forgiveness"). Our goal
in pointing out sin and calling for repentance has to be the forgiveness of
sins.[iv]
This is certainly a concept that we need to keep working on.
So, what does all this mean for us? That’s
the question of the day. Stan Hauerwas reminds us that the resurrection of
Jesus isn’t just about a moment in time. It is about the way we live our lives
as those who claim his name.
Living a life of faith in Jesus Christ is
both complicated and simple. We have to believe the impossible, and act out the
life that Christ commanded. We are to be agents of repentance, on our way to
forgiveness of sin. Unfortunately, that means that we have to acknowledge sin,
the sin of our lives, and the sin of the world. And we have to be willing to
turn around – to repent – and be willing to live our lives a different way. That’s
really hard because in our humanity we want to be comfortable, Jesus is calling
us to the most uncomfortable act of all… living life in his name.
Jesus calls us to be witnesses, giving evidence of how the risen Jesus has
come into our lives. This is not just about telling the story in words. Christian
witnesses do not simply repeat what we have heard. We are called to give our
whole life as evidence of the resurrection. Belief in the resurrected Jesus
can't be argued or explained. Even Jesus didn't try that. He knew that the
truth had to be seen, had to be touched, had to be experienced in his flesh and
the witness of his disciples.
We are witnesses when we can invite someone to look into our homes, our
families, our friendships, our work, our checkbooks, -- and find Jesus there.
We are witnesses when we allow ourselves to be touched by folks who are lost
and afraid. We are witnesses when we hear the pain others experience and not
only believe it but try to give their pain a voice. We are called to raise a voice
for change, not only to benefit ourselves personally but to hold up the whole body
of Christ. We are witnesses when we live in ways that defy any explanation
other than the presence of the risen Christ within us.[v]
We read in the Bible of Jesus’ resurrection journey. We see it in his
meetings with the disciples and other followers. But it is not their story alone.
Richard Rohr ends his chapter on The Resurrection Journey in this way:
“Resurrection is contagious and free for the taking. It is everywhere visible
and available for those who have learned how to see, how to rejoice, and how to
neither hoard nor limit God’s ubiquitous, unfettered gift.”[vi]
We are witnesses to the world of the risen Christ. That is both our gift and our responsibility… Thanks be to God.
[i]
Hauerwas,
[ii] Gillick, Larry, http://liturgy.slu.edu/3EasterB043006/theword_gillick.html, 2006.
[iii] Rohr,
Richard, The Universal Christ, Convergent Books, 2019, p 178.
[iv]
Stoffregan, Brian, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke24x36.htm,
200
[v] Grant,
Kristen, “Fresh Evidence,” The Christian Century Foundation, May 4, 2003.
[vi] Rohr, p
187.
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