May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Easter 5
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kingsville
DATE: May 18, 2003
TEXT: John 14:15-21 - The farewell Address
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.
ISSUE: John gives us Jesus’ farewell address to his disciples. He reminds them to keep his commandments, and to be assured that they will not by left orphaned or abandoned. He remains or abides with them, and they with him. In that promise and relationship that will always have hope through their faith and his abiding presence. While the world today distracts us and creates much evil spiritedness the presence of Christ remains to be embraced.
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Here’s a beautiful passage from the Gospel account of St. John. To realize the beauty of such passages we need to have a background, and understanding of the context of some of these passages to really appreciate their meaning for the time, as well as for ourselves.
Some of the sections of John’s gospel seem strange to us, like this one today, where Jesus is talking about his abiding in the Father, and the Father in Him, and his disciples abiding in him, and he in them. This language for us seems a bit cumbersome and distracting to the passages. It is helpful to understand that the Gospel of John was directed to what was probably a relatively small group of Jews and Gentiles, who had joined the early Christian movement. By joining the movement, the Jewish members particularly became disinherited from their family and old friends. They were tossed out of the synagogues. Remember to lose family was to about lose your life. (Remember the prodigal son.) In order to survive an outcast had to attach themselves to some kind of fictive family. For many Jews and Gentiles of the time, the new family was the Christian movement.
What we have in this passage is John giving to his community an address from Jesus to his disciples. It is a farewell address that is given at the Last Supper where Jesus has also washed his disciples feet. It is some of his last words, or at least what John felt would have been needed to be said by Jesus to his disciples in this difficult time when he is facing crucifixion. But whether the farewell address is before the crucifixion or before the Ascension of Jesus to the heavens after his Resurrection, the farewell message is essentially the same. Now, the issue of abiding in Jesus, and he in the father, and the disciples abiding in Jesus is what some scholars refer to as a kind of anti-language different from the world. Various groups all have their own lingo. The military has a jargon or lingo that they use. There’s a psychiatric lingo which talks about various kinds of complexes. Computer folks have the lingo of bytes, rams, etc. Persons in the Cursillo movement in the church today have a form of Spanish lingo: cursillistas, altreas, de colores. It becomes a lingo that gets understood by the “in” group. John’s gospel is like that it has its own way of speaking, and the word “meno” in the Greek , to remain or abide is used in the Gospel of John some forty times. In all of Matthew, Mark, and Luke the word appears just twelve times. This fact may not seem terribly important to us, by abiding with Jesus Christ was a significant point in this Gospel and time.
To abide or remain with Christ was a significant call to loyalty and faith in Jesus Christ as the leader and father of the movement. Jesus abides remains in the Father with great devotion and loyalty. God the Father will be loyal to his Son Jesus, whom he will raise from the dead and reclaim in the Kingdom of God. Those who remain or abide in Jesus in a loyal and faithful way will reap the benefits of God the Father and of Jesus in their own hope of and assurance of resurrection and belonging to the sustaining family of God. They will not be orphaned. Keep in mind that many of these people were already orphaned by the world. Their own families abandoned them for becoming Christians. Many of the Jews had even lost the comfort of the destroyed Temple in Jerusalem. This fact meant that they had lost all that made them feel close to and in union with God the Father. The destruction of the Temple symbolized the destruction of their homeland, their economy, and political identity as a nation. John has Jesus saying, “I will not leave you orphaned.” Stay with me through thick and thin, abide, remain with me; stay faithful and loyal and you will have life in the Kingdom of God. You will not lose hope of being the children in the family of God the Father, and God the Son. Even though the world does not see Jesus, that is, even though many people of the nation of Israel does not accept the presence of God in Jesus Christ, the faithful will always know and feel the living presence of Jesus Christ. The concept of abiding with him was a genuine, heartfelt call to be loyal and faithful, in spite of what ever may come in the life of Jesus. Abide, Abide, Abide is a refrain in the Gospel of John.
Another important aspect of this Gospel of John to his small early Christian community is the requirement of keeping the commandments of Jesus. To keep the commandments of God in the Jewish concept was a way in which the Jewish person expressed their love for God. Sometimes Christians have rejoiced in a kind of separation from the Jewish law as unimportant. But even the orthodox Jewish person will tell you today that they have no problem keeping the laws of Judaism. They do not see it as a burden at all, because it is the way they show God their love for Him.
From the Christian perspective we believe in the grace of God, that is, the freely given love and forgiveness from God that is not something that we earn or purchase through doing good things. God’s love is freely given. Remember, again, the prodigal son parable. He returns to his father, having squandered his life, and before he can get the words of sorrow and repentance out, the Father orders the robe, the shoes, and the fatted calf for his son. That parable is expressive of the great love of God we call grace. The unspoken hope is that the Son will respond to his father with a greater allegiance, and show his repentance by his new life and actions in the family. What John’s Gospel also stresses is that the children of the Father, and of God will respond to the grace, forgiveness and love of God by keeping the commandments of Jesus. Now granted that the commandments of Jesus and the actions of Jesus himself was not inclined to keep all of the Jewish laws regarding the Sabbath and not healing on the Sabbath, not eating with so called sinners. Jesus himself was not terribly concerned about what pot dinner was cooked in. I do imagine he had great respect however for these kinds of laws, provided they did not get in the way of something far greater, and that was his laws of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, understand, and love for other human beings. Jesus had a high priority for respecting the dignity of all, including the sinners, outcasts, widows, children, and beggars. The way of Jesus was indeed the way of service for one another. For Jesus to love one another was to serve one another, and those actions expressed you love for God. You participated in such service not because it would get you into heaven, which was already an accomplished fact. You did it because this was the way you participated in and expressed your faithfulness, and loyalty to the way and teaching of Jesus Christ and the Father.
Keep in mind love was not something emotional, as we often see love today in Jesus’ time. People question, “How do I love a God I cannot see? How do I love a person that is hard to have some kind of an emotionally connection with because of their personality or behavior?” Love in Biblical times was not emotion, but it meant, “to stay attached.” To love God meant to stay attached, loyal, faithful to the way of God. Cling, embrace God by the expression of actions that are congruent with the longing of God. In this kind of devotion God’s way becomes revealed in a genuine and authentic way. You become enveloped in the Spirit of God, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ’s, the Holy Spirit of God.
See the flow here in this passage. Abiding in Jesus Christ, being faithful and loyal, is you protection from being orphaned and losing all hope. With God you will never find yourself in the pigpen, at the garbage dump, or in hell. God has attached himself to his creation and to his people through Jesus Christ. God has come to his people, with all the grace, the unearned benefits, that implies. Responsible folk express their love for God with respect of all of God’s people spreading the spirit of God in compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, all of which are another way of talking about God. We stay attached and the Holy Spirit of God prevails keeping us bonded, glued together with God.
This passage also sounds to me a little bit like the section from the Hebrew Scriptures of Job. There is that beautiful section in Job, where Job has suffered dreadfully, and for what seems to be without rhyme or reason. Job’s friends tell him his suffering is the result of his sinfulness. But Job stands up and says, “ I know that my Redeemer lives, and though this body be destroyed, I shall see God, and He shall not be a stranger.” Job means is that his Redeemer will be his Advocate, his attorney. Regardless of what happens His Divine Advocate will stand before God and declare his innocence. He will not be defenseless nor ultimately abandoned by God.
Jesus is saying essentially the very same thing. Even if he must depart, The Father will send an Advocate, an holy attorney, who is the Holy Spirit who will always be with His creation. The truth of the matter is that the Spirit of God will never abandon his people to whom he has attached himself, if they in their loyalty stay attached to Him through carrying out the compassion, mercy, understanding, love and forgiveness of God and remain channels, a pipeline of God’s grace.
Here’s our world today. There are many orphans of many kinds. People separated by from their families and loved ones. There are thousands upon thousands of orphaned children due to the plague of HIV-AIDS in Africa. So many people today have lost touch with God Father, and God the Son, and have no concept of a Holy Spirit that can present them faultless before God. Drug addiction ruins lives and leaves many people homeless and orphaned. There are many depressed and alienated from hope in God. Yet we know the living Spirit of God abides and works with us and in us.
In that story of Philip and the eunuch that we read earlier in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, the eunuch in spite of his position and wealth has no hope of family, but Philip talks with him, and enables him to receive the Holy Spirit, the way of God’s servanthood expressed in the loving Christ. The eunuch through the rite of Holy Baptism and the Spirit of God working in Philip enables him to be born into the family of God through the ways and teachings of Jesus Christ. May we never lose sight of the presence of the Spirit of God and Jesus Christ within us, and not fail to let that Spirit live within us and through us.
Sunday, May 18, 2003
Sunday, May 11, 2003
Easter 4
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Easter 4
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kingsville
DATE: May 11, 2003
TEXT: John 10:11-16 – I am the Good Shepherd
See also: Ezekiel 34:1-10 – Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds fed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.
See also: Psalm 23 – Your rod and you staff, the comfort me.
ISSUE: The Good Shepherd is not “agathos”, as in morally good, but the “kalos” shepherd, as in beautiful and noble, like a good compassionate doctor. The Good Shepherd is not particularly cuddly, but carries a rod and staff to fight off the wild animals, and keep the sheep contained. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of God, full of compassion and mercy for the people of God. Eventually, he calls his disciples to this noble work, seeking their transformation in the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here’s one of the most beautiful and exciting passages from the Gospel of Account of St. John. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The passage is loaded with meaning, fulfillment, hope, and transformation or commissioning. One of the first things we modern, very industrialized people, even if we have grown up in a modern pastoral setting, must do is dismiss the stain glassed images we have of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, dressed in royal robes, cuddling and holding his non-squeamish sheep.
We must also set aside the concept of the shepherd in dressed in his usually white robes as a morally good man. In the Greek language, in which John the Evangelist wrote, there are two words for good, “kalos” and “agathos.” “Agathos means morally good, like be a good boy or girl, i.e. moral. “Kalos” means beautiful or noble. John the Evangelist uses the word “kalos.” Jesus is the beautiful shepherd or the noble shepherd, which may be why artists are inclined to make Jesus appear so immaculate in paintings and stained glass. But do keep in mind when we think of someone like our doctor as our “good” doctor, we don’t necessarily mean good in the sense of moral, but rather as understanding, compassionate, merciful. It is in this sense that Jesus is the beautiful shepherd or noble shepherd. His life and ministry has been a devoted to compassion and mercy for many disenfranchised poor lost people.
Some years ago, I was in Iceland, and witnessed a round up of a heard of sheep. The shepherds there use dogs and ride horses in their efforts to round up the sheep. Shepherds yell and scream in their native Icelandic language. Dogs bark, and sheep bleat. It is scene that is full of movement, energy, and excitement. William Loader, a Biblical Scholar in Australia describes the raucous scene of round ups with motorcycles and barking dogs trailing behind. The Hebrew Scriptures refer to the ancient shepherd as one who carried his rod and staff as pointed out in the 23rd Psalm. The rod was made of wood and heavily nailed at the end to fight off wild animal attacks. The staff was used to remove leaves and underbrush so that the sheep could get to greener pasture. The reality of the lives of shepherds in both ancient and modern times is not exactly that image that comes to us in stained glass windows portraying a very, shall we say, pasteurized image.
In the Hebrew Scriptures it is also worth noting that Shepherds were a symbol for leadership. There are stories of David the shepherd boy, who eventually becomes the King of Israel as a fighting off a lion and a bear, emphasizing the image of the protection shepherds were supposed to give to their flock. David becomes King of Israel, and while not particularly moral himself, is a Good or Beautiful, or Noble Shepherd in the protection and caring of his nation. The very important reading from the prophet Ezekiel expresses God’s great anger with the rulers of Israel and Judah, who are bad shepherds who have no compassion for their people, using them, enslaving them, and allowing foreign powers to scatter them all over Babylon and Assyria. The prophet utters the Word of the Lord, “God, the master, says: From now on I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back from foreign peoples, gather them from foreign countries, and bring them back to their home country. I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, along the streams, among their own people. I’ll lead them into lush pasture so they can roam the mountain pastures of Israel, graze at leisure, feed in the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I’ll go after the lost, I’ll collect the strays, I’ll doctor the injured. I’ll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong one so they’re not exploited.
Then, in the Gospel of John, Jesus who is the Word of God says, “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” God comes among his people with all the energy and excitement of shepherds who lived hard lives in the cold and darkness of night in defense of their flocks. It is against this background of shepherding that we must understand what it means that Jesus is the good, compassionate, protecting, noble, beautiful saving Shepherd of the people of God. He is calling together all the people of God, both Jew and Gentile into his pasture to be healed, loved, and rescued. Surely this is one of the most comforting and consoling passages of John’s Gospel. The world does not save, but the way of God working in Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
The Gospel of John also contrasts among Jesus’ disciples, according to John Pilch, who are the good and the bad shepherds among them. There is the unnamed Beloved Disciple, but thought to be John, who stays very close to Jesus, and even at this own trial and crucifixion is boldly there, and becomes the one to care for Jesus’ mother Mary. The point is the importance of his closeness and intimacy with Jesus. On the other hand, it is Peter who loses his intimate place with Jesus in thrice denying Jesus at the trial, and taking flight like an hireling who cares nothing for his Lord, and will not stay to do what needs to be done, when Jesus is the lamb on the cross, leaving him to the slaughter. But later, after the resurrection, Jesus again appears to Peter asking him: “Do you love me?” three times. “You know I do,” says Peter. “Then feed my sheep; feed my lambs,” says Jesus. A commissioning and a transformation is taking place. Peter moves from lost sheep and bad shepherd into the community of God’s good shepherds. The work of the church begins. It needs to take up it’s rod and staff, and be ready to meet the demands of a fallen world of may lost folk with great sensitivity and compassion, and with that awesome sense of laying one’s life down that others might be raised up. Like a mother risking her life to bear her children and laying her own life down for their up raising.
The fact of the matter is that there is really but one Good Shepherd. It is God in Jesus Christ. In our own times of feeling lost, badgered, frightened, walking through the valley in the shadow of death, as we all are from time to time, it is in looking to the Lord as our shepherd that we find spiritual food, our rest, our comfort. As surely as we may feel that we are sometimes lambs be led to slaughter in the difficult times of our lives, we know Jesus was there too. He too was the sacrificial lamb, but raised up too, and seen as The Good Shepherd of us all: beautiful, compassionate, and noble. And as that Shepherd leads us, there is his call to us be shepherds with him in the conduct of our lives. He calls us to a transformation from sheep to shepherds, to be raised up with him in glory.
We live in a world and culture of violence where many people are being used, enslaved, battered, beaten, starved, and over taxed. There are those who have lost direction, those who are lonely, those who are uneducated and poor. Around the world and around us are those who are scattered. We are not going to save or rescue or protect them all. There is really just one good shepherd, but if we are to be transformed into the disciples of The Good Shepherd, may we be the best of all Good Hirelings.
SEASON: Easter 4
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kingsville
DATE: May 11, 2003
TEXT: John 10:11-16 – I am the Good Shepherd
See also: Ezekiel 34:1-10 – Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds fed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.
See also: Psalm 23 – Your rod and you staff, the comfort me.
ISSUE: The Good Shepherd is not “agathos”, as in morally good, but the “kalos” shepherd, as in beautiful and noble, like a good compassionate doctor. The Good Shepherd is not particularly cuddly, but carries a rod and staff to fight off the wild animals, and keep the sheep contained. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd of God, full of compassion and mercy for the people of God. Eventually, he calls his disciples to this noble work, seeking their transformation in the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here’s one of the most beautiful and exciting passages from the Gospel of Account of St. John. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The passage is loaded with meaning, fulfillment, hope, and transformation or commissioning. One of the first things we modern, very industrialized people, even if we have grown up in a modern pastoral setting, must do is dismiss the stain glassed images we have of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, dressed in royal robes, cuddling and holding his non-squeamish sheep.
We must also set aside the concept of the shepherd in dressed in his usually white robes as a morally good man. In the Greek language, in which John the Evangelist wrote, there are two words for good, “kalos” and “agathos.” “Agathos means morally good, like be a good boy or girl, i.e. moral. “Kalos” means beautiful or noble. John the Evangelist uses the word “kalos.” Jesus is the beautiful shepherd or the noble shepherd, which may be why artists are inclined to make Jesus appear so immaculate in paintings and stained glass. But do keep in mind when we think of someone like our doctor as our “good” doctor, we don’t necessarily mean good in the sense of moral, but rather as understanding, compassionate, merciful. It is in this sense that Jesus is the beautiful shepherd or noble shepherd. His life and ministry has been a devoted to compassion and mercy for many disenfranchised poor lost people.
Some years ago, I was in Iceland, and witnessed a round up of a heard of sheep. The shepherds there use dogs and ride horses in their efforts to round up the sheep. Shepherds yell and scream in their native Icelandic language. Dogs bark, and sheep bleat. It is scene that is full of movement, energy, and excitement. William Loader, a Biblical Scholar in Australia describes the raucous scene of round ups with motorcycles and barking dogs trailing behind. The Hebrew Scriptures refer to the ancient shepherd as one who carried his rod and staff as pointed out in the 23rd Psalm. The rod was made of wood and heavily nailed at the end to fight off wild animal attacks. The staff was used to remove leaves and underbrush so that the sheep could get to greener pasture. The reality of the lives of shepherds in both ancient and modern times is not exactly that image that comes to us in stained glass windows portraying a very, shall we say, pasteurized image.
In the Hebrew Scriptures it is also worth noting that Shepherds were a symbol for leadership. There are stories of David the shepherd boy, who eventually becomes the King of Israel as a fighting off a lion and a bear, emphasizing the image of the protection shepherds were supposed to give to their flock. David becomes King of Israel, and while not particularly moral himself, is a Good or Beautiful, or Noble Shepherd in the protection and caring of his nation. The very important reading from the prophet Ezekiel expresses God’s great anger with the rulers of Israel and Judah, who are bad shepherds who have no compassion for their people, using them, enslaving them, and allowing foreign powers to scatter them all over Babylon and Assyria. The prophet utters the Word of the Lord, “God, the master, says: From now on I myself am the shepherd. I’m going looking for them. As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back from foreign peoples, gather them from foreign countries, and bring them back to their home country. I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, along the streams, among their own people. I’ll lead them into lush pasture so they can roam the mountain pastures of Israel, graze at leisure, feed in the rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. And I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I myself will make sure they get plenty of rest. I’ll go after the lost, I’ll collect the strays, I’ll doctor the injured. I’ll build up the weak ones and oversee the strong one so they’re not exploited.
Then, in the Gospel of John, Jesus who is the Word of God says, “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” God comes among his people with all the energy and excitement of shepherds who lived hard lives in the cold and darkness of night in defense of their flocks. It is against this background of shepherding that we must understand what it means that Jesus is the good, compassionate, protecting, noble, beautiful saving Shepherd of the people of God. He is calling together all the people of God, both Jew and Gentile into his pasture to be healed, loved, and rescued. Surely this is one of the most comforting and consoling passages of John’s Gospel. The world does not save, but the way of God working in Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
The Gospel of John also contrasts among Jesus’ disciples, according to John Pilch, who are the good and the bad shepherds among them. There is the unnamed Beloved Disciple, but thought to be John, who stays very close to Jesus, and even at this own trial and crucifixion is boldly there, and becomes the one to care for Jesus’ mother Mary. The point is the importance of his closeness and intimacy with Jesus. On the other hand, it is Peter who loses his intimate place with Jesus in thrice denying Jesus at the trial, and taking flight like an hireling who cares nothing for his Lord, and will not stay to do what needs to be done, when Jesus is the lamb on the cross, leaving him to the slaughter. But later, after the resurrection, Jesus again appears to Peter asking him: “Do you love me?” three times. “You know I do,” says Peter. “Then feed my sheep; feed my lambs,” says Jesus. A commissioning and a transformation is taking place. Peter moves from lost sheep and bad shepherd into the community of God’s good shepherds. The work of the church begins. It needs to take up it’s rod and staff, and be ready to meet the demands of a fallen world of may lost folk with great sensitivity and compassion, and with that awesome sense of laying one’s life down that others might be raised up. Like a mother risking her life to bear her children and laying her own life down for their up raising.
The fact of the matter is that there is really but one Good Shepherd. It is God in Jesus Christ. In our own times of feeling lost, badgered, frightened, walking through the valley in the shadow of death, as we all are from time to time, it is in looking to the Lord as our shepherd that we find spiritual food, our rest, our comfort. As surely as we may feel that we are sometimes lambs be led to slaughter in the difficult times of our lives, we know Jesus was there too. He too was the sacrificial lamb, but raised up too, and seen as The Good Shepherd of us all: beautiful, compassionate, and noble. And as that Shepherd leads us, there is his call to us be shepherds with him in the conduct of our lives. He calls us to a transformation from sheep to shepherds, to be raised up with him in glory.
We live in a world and culture of violence where many people are being used, enslaved, battered, beaten, starved, and over taxed. There are those who have lost direction, those who are lonely, those who are uneducated and poor. Around the world and around us are those who are scattered. We are not going to save or rescue or protect them all. There is really just one good shepherd, but if we are to be transformed into the disciples of The Good Shepherd, may we be the best of all Good Hirelings.
Sunday, May 4, 2003
Easter 3
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Easter 3
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kingsville
DATE: May 4, 2003
TEXT: Luke 24:36b-48 - “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” . . . . . They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
ISSUE: The passage intends to emphasize the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. He is touchable, and he is no ghost. He eats. He is the common sense fulfillment of the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. It seems that a new alternative reality is being revealed. Jesus after his resurrection is a mystical experience in that he can materialize and de-materialize. Yet he is a commanding present reality. The passage calls the world to an alternative reality where the presence of God is at work reconciling the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
How real is the resurrection of Jesus? The resurrection and some of the miracles of the Christian Scriptures are often stumbling blocks for many people in our time. They find it hard to accept the reality of the Jesus Story, and have difficulty finding the meaning in the story. My belief is that we must first discover the meaning in the Christian Scriptures and then we become awakened to their reality, and it is a reality often different from the way the world sees reality. It is an alternative reality. (See John Pilch)
In the scripture reading from Luke we have another story of a resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples. Again it is in the Jerusalem tradition of appearances. Not unlike the Johannine story, Jesus appears to some of his disciples and says to them: “Peace be with you.” The pax is the normal greeting of the period meaning may all the goodness of God be with you. In this story there is an immediate recognition of Jesus. But, again, the disciples are terrified and startled. They think that they are seeing a ghost, or a spirit. It is an apparition they think. But Luke wants his community to understand that the resurrection of Jesus is not merely a vision, but that the resurrection of Jesus has substance to it; it is not merely ghostly or spooky. Jesus says to the disciples, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” The disciples are still not terribly convinced, so Jesus asks for something to eat. They give him a piece of broiled fish, which he eats in front of them.” Normally the people and the disciples would not think in terms of a ghost or spirit being able to eat food. Luke is telling this story to emphasize the reality of Jesus’ presence with his disciples.
For most of us, as for them, I suppose, it was still very mysterious. Jesus seems to materialize and de-materialize at will. Granted this is likened to a spirit of ghost. Yet on the other hand there is that seeing, recognizing, touching, feeling, and watching the resurrected Lord participate in table fellowship with them, eating fish. It is a very mysterious new kind of reality for them, and for us.
There is still another and most important aspect of this event in Luke. It is a time of teaching, and a summarizing of what has already happened in the ways and teachings of Jesus in his ministry prior to the crucifixion and resurrection, and a summary of some parts of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah and ministry of Moses, the psalms, and the prophets. Obviously Jesus, a life long Jew, was steeped in the Mosaic tradition. In the Mosaic tradition, it is Moses, a servant of God who leads his oppressed people out of bondage and slavery in Egypt across the Sea of Reeds (or Red Sea) into a wilderness, which was a time of testing. It is in that experience that the people are given mannah from heaven, and water gushes from a Rock. Ultimately they are given a Promised land of milk and honey, Israel and Judah. For the Jews, the reality for them was that God, the God of wonder amazement and awe, was alive through Moses working through their history to save them from injustices. Jesus too is that reality. His ministry was largely devoted to the salvation of the peasantry and those who were cast down. He intends to raise them up, to call them into a journey that will eventually lead them into The Kingdom that is God’s.
There’s little question that Jesus was very knowledgeable of the Psalms, and his life a ministry is an expression of some of them. “The Lord is my shepherd. (23) He leads me to green pastures. He restores my soul. My cup runneth over. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou art with me.” It means that God is like a good shepherd who is with me, even in very difficult times. John’s Gospel account has the tradition of Jesus as likened to The Good Shepherd, who leads an enormously large group of people up a grassy hill of green pasture to feed them bread and fish. Their souls are fed with a new reality that in and through Jesus Christ, God lives. There are other psalms that speak of the Mighty God of compassion and mercy, which becomes expressed in the ministry of Jesus.
The prophets anticipate a time when God will redeem the foolishness, the idolatry, and the apostasy of his people. The aim of the prophets is to call a nation, which has lost sight of its God back. The prophets often anticipate the coming of God once again in their history, who will be their king and redeemer, their high priest. One of the places that so beautifully spells this out is in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. (Chapter 52:11-53:12) Isaiah saw the hope of Israel in a high priestly like servant, who would be indeed a prince of peace, but who would also not bruise a broken reed nor blow out a dimly burning wick. Rather, the Messianic servant would give his own life for the sins of others, and be the offering that takes away the sins of the world. The servant will redeem God’s people and restore them to a worthiness to approach and be the people of God. When you look at Jesus, what do you see? You see in a clear reality, Jesus Christ offered like the lamb of God upon the altar to be an atonement, an “at-one-ment” for the people of God. It is the King of Love, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the great high priest, the Messianic hope of the world at work in Jerusalem, in their history. God is at work in Jesus Christ in the history of the human condition, and that’s for real, and for many it is the new reality.
Think of the simple story of Jonah and the Big Fish. Jonah is gobbled up by the Big Fish in his effort to take flight from God’s call to him. He sinks into the depths of the sea, becoming entangled in the seaweed. Yet, the great fish gobbles him up, and in three days, Jonah is spit up on the dry land and commanded to carry on the work of his Lord God. It is a salvation story of how God contends with sinners, the rebellious to restore them to the good.
Think of the great and powerful scriptural lines that come from the Book of Job. Job experiences terrible suffering, and his friends are telling him that it is his fault. He must have done something wrong. He is a terrible sinner, and is accursed by God. But Job says: “I know that my redeemer lives, and though this body be destroyed I shall see God, and He will not be a stranger. Job is assured of the reality of his redemption, which shall come beyond any shadow of a doubt. God is real and with him.
What was the reality, then, for the early Christian Church? What is it that we are being told by Luke’s resurrection story? We are being told that the reality is that God is still working in our history. God in Jesus Christ with all the mystery, awe, the wonder and amazement of God lives, and that the presence of God in Christ and in the world is an incredible reality unlike the world’s minimized realities. God real living presence is much like weeds. You can stamp them out here, but they come up over here. You stamp them out over here, and they come up over there. You cannot ultimately eliminate, destroy, crucify, nor wipe out the love and the salvation of God. The Reality is God is still with us, as mysterious, and as unlikely as that sometimes seems.
We can live with the world’s sense of reality, that human beings are sinners and always will be. We can live with the reality that evil will always persist. That there will always be war, and that there is little hope for the human condition. We can believe ourselves to be a meaningless fluke of nature, wandering forever, and without meaning, through the infinity of the universe. We can live with the reality that only what is seeable, provable, observable, consistent with the laws of the universe is real. Or, we have the choice of living with the alternate reality that God is still working in our history, that the spiritual awesome reality of the compassionate, forgiving, redeeming, renewing restoring love of God is the greater reality that still lives in the reality of the living risen Lord Jesus Christ who dwells with the members of his church that accept the response of our call and our faithful loyalty. It is the reality of that great love expressed in the life, teachings, ministry, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ that is the real hope of the world. “I am with you always even to the ends of the earth,” and we still have table fellowship with him in the Eucharistic feast, feeling and touching, and feeding upon Him.
SEASON: Easter 3
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John’s Episcopal Church, Kingsville
DATE: May 4, 2003
TEXT: Luke 24:36b-48 - “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” . . . . . They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
ISSUE: The passage intends to emphasize the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. He is touchable, and he is no ghost. He eats. He is the common sense fulfillment of the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. It seems that a new alternative reality is being revealed. Jesus after his resurrection is a mystical experience in that he can materialize and de-materialize. Yet he is a commanding present reality. The passage calls the world to an alternative reality where the presence of God is at work reconciling the world.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
How real is the resurrection of Jesus? The resurrection and some of the miracles of the Christian Scriptures are often stumbling blocks for many people in our time. They find it hard to accept the reality of the Jesus Story, and have difficulty finding the meaning in the story. My belief is that we must first discover the meaning in the Christian Scriptures and then we become awakened to their reality, and it is a reality often different from the way the world sees reality. It is an alternative reality. (See John Pilch)
In the scripture reading from Luke we have another story of a resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples. Again it is in the Jerusalem tradition of appearances. Not unlike the Johannine story, Jesus appears to some of his disciples and says to them: “Peace be with you.” The pax is the normal greeting of the period meaning may all the goodness of God be with you. In this story there is an immediate recognition of Jesus. But, again, the disciples are terrified and startled. They think that they are seeing a ghost, or a spirit. It is an apparition they think. But Luke wants his community to understand that the resurrection of Jesus is not merely a vision, but that the resurrection of Jesus has substance to it; it is not merely ghostly or spooky. Jesus says to the disciples, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” The disciples are still not terribly convinced, so Jesus asks for something to eat. They give him a piece of broiled fish, which he eats in front of them.” Normally the people and the disciples would not think in terms of a ghost or spirit being able to eat food. Luke is telling this story to emphasize the reality of Jesus’ presence with his disciples.
For most of us, as for them, I suppose, it was still very mysterious. Jesus seems to materialize and de-materialize at will. Granted this is likened to a spirit of ghost. Yet on the other hand there is that seeing, recognizing, touching, feeling, and watching the resurrected Lord participate in table fellowship with them, eating fish. It is a very mysterious new kind of reality for them, and for us.
There is still another and most important aspect of this event in Luke. It is a time of teaching, and a summarizing of what has already happened in the ways and teachings of Jesus in his ministry prior to the crucifixion and resurrection, and a summary of some parts of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah and ministry of Moses, the psalms, and the prophets. Obviously Jesus, a life long Jew, was steeped in the Mosaic tradition. In the Mosaic tradition, it is Moses, a servant of God who leads his oppressed people out of bondage and slavery in Egypt across the Sea of Reeds (or Red Sea) into a wilderness, which was a time of testing. It is in that experience that the people are given mannah from heaven, and water gushes from a Rock. Ultimately they are given a Promised land of milk and honey, Israel and Judah. For the Jews, the reality for them was that God, the God of wonder amazement and awe, was alive through Moses working through their history to save them from injustices. Jesus too is that reality. His ministry was largely devoted to the salvation of the peasantry and those who were cast down. He intends to raise them up, to call them into a journey that will eventually lead them into The Kingdom that is God’s.
There’s little question that Jesus was very knowledgeable of the Psalms, and his life a ministry is an expression of some of them. “The Lord is my shepherd. (23) He leads me to green pastures. He restores my soul. My cup runneth over. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou art with me.” It means that God is like a good shepherd who is with me, even in very difficult times. John’s Gospel account has the tradition of Jesus as likened to The Good Shepherd, who leads an enormously large group of people up a grassy hill of green pasture to feed them bread and fish. Their souls are fed with a new reality that in and through Jesus Christ, God lives. There are other psalms that speak of the Mighty God of compassion and mercy, which becomes expressed in the ministry of Jesus.
The prophets anticipate a time when God will redeem the foolishness, the idolatry, and the apostasy of his people. The aim of the prophets is to call a nation, which has lost sight of its God back. The prophets often anticipate the coming of God once again in their history, who will be their king and redeemer, their high priest. One of the places that so beautifully spells this out is in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. (Chapter 52:11-53:12) Isaiah saw the hope of Israel in a high priestly like servant, who would be indeed a prince of peace, but who would also not bruise a broken reed nor blow out a dimly burning wick. Rather, the Messianic servant would give his own life for the sins of others, and be the offering that takes away the sins of the world. The servant will redeem God’s people and restore them to a worthiness to approach and be the people of God. When you look at Jesus, what do you see? You see in a clear reality, Jesus Christ offered like the lamb of God upon the altar to be an atonement, an “at-one-ment” for the people of God. It is the King of Love, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the great high priest, the Messianic hope of the world at work in Jerusalem, in their history. God is at work in Jesus Christ in the history of the human condition, and that’s for real, and for many it is the new reality.
Think of the simple story of Jonah and the Big Fish. Jonah is gobbled up by the Big Fish in his effort to take flight from God’s call to him. He sinks into the depths of the sea, becoming entangled in the seaweed. Yet, the great fish gobbles him up, and in three days, Jonah is spit up on the dry land and commanded to carry on the work of his Lord God. It is a salvation story of how God contends with sinners, the rebellious to restore them to the good.
Think of the great and powerful scriptural lines that come from the Book of Job. Job experiences terrible suffering, and his friends are telling him that it is his fault. He must have done something wrong. He is a terrible sinner, and is accursed by God. But Job says: “I know that my redeemer lives, and though this body be destroyed I shall see God, and He will not be a stranger. Job is assured of the reality of his redemption, which shall come beyond any shadow of a doubt. God is real and with him.
What was the reality, then, for the early Christian Church? What is it that we are being told by Luke’s resurrection story? We are being told that the reality is that God is still working in our history. God in Jesus Christ with all the mystery, awe, the wonder and amazement of God lives, and that the presence of God in Christ and in the world is an incredible reality unlike the world’s minimized realities. God real living presence is much like weeds. You can stamp them out here, but they come up over here. You stamp them out over here, and they come up over there. You cannot ultimately eliminate, destroy, crucify, nor wipe out the love and the salvation of God. The Reality is God is still with us, as mysterious, and as unlikely as that sometimes seems.
We can live with the world’s sense of reality, that human beings are sinners and always will be. We can live with the reality that evil will always persist. That there will always be war, and that there is little hope for the human condition. We can believe ourselves to be a meaningless fluke of nature, wandering forever, and without meaning, through the infinity of the universe. We can live with the reality that only what is seeable, provable, observable, consistent with the laws of the universe is real. Or, we have the choice of living with the alternate reality that God is still working in our history, that the spiritual awesome reality of the compassionate, forgiving, redeeming, renewing restoring love of God is the greater reality that still lives in the reality of the living risen Lord Jesus Christ who dwells with the members of his church that accept the response of our call and our faithful loyalty. It is the reality of that great love expressed in the life, teachings, ministry, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ that is the real hope of the world. “I am with you always even to the ends of the earth,” and we still have table fellowship with him in the Eucharistic feast, feeling and touching, and feeding upon Him.
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