| First
Reading | Psalm | Epistle | Gospel |
| Acts
3:12-19 |
4:1-8 |
1
John 3:1-7 |
Luke
24:36-48 |
The
stories after Easter place a curious emphasis on the public display
of Jesus’ hands and feet. On one hand it is understandable
that the places that marked Jesus’ suffering held great interest
among the earliest followers. I also suspect that such attention
was paid because it was by Jesus’ hands that he had touched
and healed people; by his arms, Jesus had embraced and comforted
them; and by his feet, he had walked into people’s lives. Nor
did Jesus seem to discourage this curiosity. “Touch me, feel
my scars. Let’s have conversation. Have a meal with me, for
I am not a ghost.” The Gospels insist that the risen Christ
is the same Jesus who had suffered and died. To follow the risen
Christ means to follow the one who bore the cross. The resurrection
is not a break from the past, but a continuous weld to the past.
It is clear that the risen Lord
didn’t appear with the intent to lead followers on an escape
route into a higher and separate plane of existence. After his
resurrection, Jesus never revealed himself by saying cast aside
your possessions and leave this world behind. When he met the
disciples fishing he didn’t say, “Stop what you are
doing, throw away all your fish and I will feed you heavenly food.”
Instead he said, “Continue throwing out your lines, keep
casting over here, or pull in the net. By the way, what fish have
you caught that we can cook and eat?” Jesus revealed himself
and then joined with them in whatever activity they were about,
be it walking to Emmaus, or eating breakfast, or discussing the
scriptures over supper. Indeed, the Gospels as a whole seem to
tie the feeding of the multitude, the Last Supper, the supper
at Emmaus, the subsequent meal in Jerusalem the next day, and
the breakfast on the shore of Lake Galilee, all together.
The early Christians knew firsthand
of the many false messiahs who worked people up to a frenzy, and
led them out into the desert and ultimately off a cliff. Such
misguided zealotry greatly contributed to the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Romans in the year 70. The disciples knew that all paths
out of this world led to death valleys of delusion.
Why do people fall for it? Because
they are so hungry, easy words always are so tempting, and a dream
world can be oh so inviting. People ask, “How can you prevent
such tragedies?” and my initial reply is, “Tell children
over and over again the old fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. The
story of cults is a variation of this same theme. The wicked witch
urges naive children to forget their past and their families and
lures them to a house made of gingerbread and frosting. It looks
so sweet; tastes so good; seems too good to be true, and that’s
right, it is too good to be true. In contrast the resurrection
stories join the risen Jesus to the words of the prophets, the
laws of Moses, and Israel’s long history of hope and redemption.
The risen Jesus never attempts to draw people away to a gingerbread
heaven.
Hence, there are no substantial
similarities between Christianity and cults. From the very beginning,
the Gospels point us in an entirely different direction and urge
us to be aware of those who would lead us away, out of this world.
The Gospels don’t ask people to look up, but to look around
us, not to anticipate a future coming, but to discern the risen
Christ and the Holy Spirit working among us now.
Like
Jesus, we may need to withdraw for solitude; appreciate the eloquence
of silence; and value the strength of prayer. Such exercises are
not done with the intent of cutting off the world God has made
or disconnecting with humanity that God intends to redeem. The
first hostels and retreat centers were established in the desert
for the purpose of healing humanity, not for writing off the world.
The Gospels are telling us that
God’s intention from the very beginning is to send us where
humanity lives, be it in homes, boats, jails, or along highways.
God wants us here, here in Ithaca to witness to the resurrected
life. We don’t all have to be orators, or writers, or itinerant
teachers. Neither were the early disciples. Some cared for widows,
baked bread for the sick, visited neighbors in prison, or were
there just to listen when some needed to unburden their hearts.
The good news is that we are here, and Christ is revealed among
us here. Christ gives us all we require to be witnesses and Easter
people. We don't need space suits or secret decoders. Jesus has
absolutely no use for flying saucers, or flaming chariots carrying
us away from those for whom he died. God wants us here, to continue
fishing; to keep on walking the roads; and to keep sharing food
together. In some way the Gospel will draw us to like places where
Jesus suffered and died, and to places where resurrection and
Jesus’ hands and feet are revealed.
And
I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
