Psalm 23

A video reflection on Psalm 23.

Not a Ghost but Flesh and Blood

The risen Jesus had already appeared to some of the disciples in what we often call the road to Emmaus. The disciples were walking along, and Jesus appears to them. While they walk, Jesus comforts them and interprets scripture for them. They don’t recognize him until they share a meal together. They get really excited, and Jesus vanishes into thin air.

These disciples run off to Jerusalem to find the others. That’s where our story (Luke 24:36-48) picks up today…

We are told that Jesus appears to them again and that they are frightened. They thought he was a ghost because they knew he was dead. He wasn’t supposed to be up walking around. In ancient times, there were several ways to check whether someone was a ghost…you could check for bones, like in the hands and feet, make sure the feet were on the ground, look at the teeth, and see them eat something.

So Jesus shows them his hands and feet, and he asks for something to eat. He’s proving to them that he is flesh and blood, not a ghost. We don’t have the benefit of being able to “ghost test” Jesus. We have to take the disciples’ word for it.

We can also take Jesus’ word for it: “It is I myself.” Once the disciples are satisfied that Jesus is real flesh and blood—not a ghost—Jesus can get to the point of this visit. He is real—not a ghost, not a figment of their imagination, not wishful thinking. If he is real, then everything he has ever told them is also true: the law of Moses, the prophets, the psalms, it will all come to be.

Jesus grounded his life in the scriptures of his people—what we call the Old Testament or the Hebrew scriptures. He saw his life as a way of bringing those scriptures to life. God is a central character in scriptures, but the scriptures are not primarily concerned with God. The scriptures show the ways in which God is concerned with human life and activity—making sure that the most marginalized are cared for, the relationships are fair, that there is a just distribution of resources. Jesus’ life and ministry are the embodiment of the Hebrew scriptures.

But it doesn’t end with his death. The resurrection creates a moment where possibilities are limitless. In the resurrection stories, Jesus invites his followers (and all those who come after them) to be the embodiment of the scriptures. We are invited to pick up the work that Jesus had to leave undone with his death.

We have scripture to point us in the right direction. It connects us to those who have gone before. Scripture as well as A New Creed remind us that we are not alone but that we live in God’s world. (creed) The focus on Jesus’ body, his flesh and blood in the resurrection, grounds our faith in a lived reality. This is not simply a spiritual experience that we are to take for ourselves. The spiritual aspect of our lives grows out of our embodied and lived experience.

This lived experience encompasses all aspects of our lives: things that bring us joy and gratitude, things that are hurtful and painful. The disciples were bound by what they thought was possible. We might also feel bound by what is possible right now.

How do we see and touch the Risen Christ when we are limited in our interactions with others? How do we experience find sacred moments when we can’t worship together in person? How do we find community when we can’t share a meal together? These are all things that prove to us the Risen Christ is alive but, for many of us, these moments are few and far between right now.

Within our bubbles, we need to be intentional about touching and connecting with each other. If we live by ourselves, it becomes especially important to do things that help us feel our own bodies. The body prayer that Sarah is sharing with us today is an example of something that helps us feel our bodies. We might listen to music and allow it to wash over us. We might breathe deeply for a few moments. Sit in a patch of sunshine and feel the breeze. Walk or exercise in whatever way is possible for you. These things all help us to feel our bodies which is an important part of experiencing the Risen Christ.

But Jesus doesn’t just call us to be individuals. Jesus calls us to be in community with others. For myself, there are days I want to go live in a cave by myself. I can’t annoy anyone, and they can’t annoy me. Some days that feels quite appealing but it wouldn’t be faithful because Jesus invites us back into community and relationship. When Jesus heals people, he restores them to a place within the community. When Lazarus is raised from the dead, Jesus commands the community to unbind him. With one exception, when Jesus appears as the Risen Christ, he appears to a group of disciples—not an individual. Our relationships with others are one of the most powerful places for experiencing the risen Christ. We experience Christ as we comfort each other, as we work through conflict, as we support each other, as we celebrate together.

Even though gathering in person is challenging right now, our need to comfort, support and celebrate together hasn’t changed. Are there ways we can do those things in different ways? Can we write rather than visit? Can we phone or connect in another way? Can we participate virtually? Can we leave something on a doorstep to help or to brighten a day?

Jesus wasn’t just concerned with his bubble. Jesus was especially concerned with those who were outside his own sphere. As he connects his life and ministry back to the law and prophets, Jesus would be most concerned with those who might be
forgotten or for whom life was especially hard. How do we support people the most marginalized people in our community and world? We might look for ways to safely volunteer with community organizations. We might offer financial support through Mission and Service which allows the United Church of Canada to work with community organizations and churches around the world in community development, education, health care.

There are many ways that we can embody the love and peace of the Risen Christ. We are the hands and feet of Christ. Christ is real flesh and blood among us. Be that presence in world. Amen.

Certainty vs Doubt

John 20:19-31 and 1 John 1-2:1 both deal with how our concrete experiences inform our faith.

The reading from John 20 tells story of Jesus appearing to the disciples. It begins by telling us that the disciples had locked themselves in a room because they were afraid. Jesus had been killed. They didn’t understand or believe that the resurrection had actually happened. There is a lot to fear.

Jesus steps into the midst of their fear. He shows them his injuries and offers them peace. And then he breathes on them and offers them the holy spirit. The disciples were changed by their experience of the risen Christ. What was impossible became possible. Someone who they knew was dead was up and walking around and he appeared in their locked room.

Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus appeared. He didn’t believe them when they told him what happened. I wouldn’t have believed such an unbelievable story either. Everyone knows Jesus is dead. We all know that people can’t just appear inside locked rooms….Of course none of it is true.

Thomas didn’t have that lived experience and so remained in his fear and uncertainty until he had his own experience of the Risen Christ.

Faith is something experiential. It isn’t always believable. If someone tells us a fanciful story about the dead being raised and someone appearing inside a locked room, why would we take their word for it?

The second passage is written to a group within the Johannine community who believe they know the truth about Jesus. This group believed that physical matter was evil and there was no possible way in which God would take on a human form. Therefore, Jesus only appeared human, only appeared to die and the resurrection was an illusion.

This passage is part of an essay challenging the beliefs of this group. The author is proclaiming the importance of belief in a real life, flesh and blood Jesus. According to the author, if Jesus wasn’t really human then our faith is meaningless. Our faith needs to be grounded in a physical reality.

If we think about the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples there are two options:

1. Jesus was fully human, died and was resurrected before appearing in a locked room.
2. Jesus only looked human. He didn’t really die, and he couldn’t have been resurrected so it was only the Jesus who appeared human who was in the locked room with the disciples.

There’s a theological argument happening here about the nature of Jesus. It is a tension that has never been resolved as we proclaim Jesus fully human and fully God. The disciples would have known Jesus as human. The possibility that Jesus was God was later concept.

This group that believed Jesus only appeared human was prepared to break away from the community. They were so sure of their belief and the correctness of it that they could not perceive any other possibility. The writer of the essay calls their conviction sin. They claim to be one with God and with Jesus and yet refuse to be in one spirit with other people. There’s a sense of self-righteousness.

This refusal to allow for other possibilities creates a brokenness in the community. As we know from the story of doubting Thomas, faith is something that has to be experienced. By declaring that Jesus was not human and that this is the only correct belief, this group is denying others the possibility of experiencing Jesus and the resurrection for themselves. The disciples needed to experience the risen Christ for themselves. Thomas needed a similar experience. We need our own experience of the Risen Christ to affirm our faith.

Declaring that we have the only truth about God is a sin of self-righteousness. Refusing to be in relationship with others of different belief is a sin of broken relationship. Denying others their own experience of the Risen Christ diminishes an individual’s faith.

The scripture invites us to be humble in our faith and be in relationship even when our theology is at odds. We are invited to be one in spirit with God, Jesus and each other. We are invited to experience the Risen Christ to deepen our faith. When our faith is renewed, we are sent into the world with the Holy Spirit to love one another and witness to the Risen Christ.

Easter Resurrection

Throughout Lent, we added a stone to the communion table and buried the Christ candle. Today, the tomb is opened as the stones are removed. These reflections are based on Mark 16:1-8.

Removing the First Rock

Today we remove the stones from the tomb. As Jesus brings new life to the world, we leave behind the stones that weigh us down and open our lives to receive light and love of that first Easter morning. The stone that sealed the tomb gives life.  

On that first Easter morning, Mary, Mary and Salome arrived at the tomb expecting death. They had watched Jesus die. They had seen his body taken off the cross and placed in the tomb. They were beyond hope. I imagine they had wept and mourned all through the sabbath as they wondered whether they could have done something different to prevent his death, to save him, to help him.

Imagine their shock and confusion when they arrive at the tomb and find the stone gone. It was not what they expected. Not only was the stone gone but the body too. Another layer of shock and horror. How much horror and pain will they have to endure?

In the tomb was a man they had never seen before who had a message for them: Jesus has risen. He is not here…. Go, tell his disciples and Peter. Go to Galilee and you will find him. What kind of cruel trick is this? How can any of it be true? Is there any possibility that pain and suffering death will not have the last word?

Removing the Second Rock

After the questions and testing of Lent and Holy week, after finality of death we find faith renewed. The stone that sealed the tomb gives hope.

How is it possible to have hope when the world is ending? Hope has to do with trusting that we are not alone even when it feels like we have been abandoned. Hope believes that the present circumstances are not the end of God’s work in us or in the world.

The words of the man inside the tomb offer hope that Jesus’ death this is not the end of the story. The words give Mary, Mary and Salome a reminder that even in death, God is present.

Removing the Third Rock

In the face of pain and death God’s love strengthens and holds us. The stone that sealed the tomb gives strength to stand strong in difficult times.

Mary, Mary and Salome are shocked and horrified. They have already endured the pain of watching Jesus be arrested and tried. They watched as his disciples abandoned him. They watched as Jesus was tortured and killed.

And they are in place of death, expecting death. How much courage does it take to look suffering and death in the eye? How much courage does it take to imagine something that goes against logic? How much strength does it take to believe that there is something beyond the pain and suffering? How is it possible to stand strong when all the evidence points to death?

Removing the Fourth Rock

In the midst of wonder and awe we let go of the fear that stops our journey. The stone that sealed the tomb offers forgiveness and release from all that binds us.

Imagine Mary, Mary and Salome arriving at the tomb. They are already grieving. They find the new horror of a missing body. They’ve been carrying everything they saw and experienced over the last few days. They’ve been carrying the questions, the what if’s, the anger and fear.

And then a stranger offers words of hope. These words of hope begin to change their lives. The words allow them to begin letting go of everything they are carrying. They can let go of the things they might have done differently. They are released so they can go and seek the Risen Christ.

Removing the Fifth Rock

The resurrection gives us an experience of the power of God’s love—love that can change our lives and change the world. The stone that sealed the tomb offers transformative love.

At the core of the gospel, we find God’s transformative love. This is the love that creates possibilities where it seems none existed. This is the love that reconciles and makes new. This is the love that surrounds us from birth, through life, through death and even beyond death. This is the love Jesus embodied and that we are called to embody in every moment of our lives. In love we find resurrection lived out.

Removing the Sixth Rock

If we are open to the radicalness of the story, the events of Easter morning unsettle us. The events of Jesus’ life unsettle us. The stone that sealed the tomb unsettles us and surprises us.

Every once in a while, we need to be shaken and surprised. The times in our lives when we are unsettled or shaken create an opportunity to see the world differently, to feel differently, to live differently. This unsettledness draws us out of our complacency and comfort zones. Being unsettled can set us on a different path.

Mary, Mary, and Salome arrive at the tomb in their grief. They can see what life was like with Jesus and the big hole now that he’s gone. It might seem that’s all there is. The empty tomb unsettles them, shakes their faith in everything they thought they knew about the world, about life, about death.

The words of a stranger put their lives on a different trajectory. Instead of simply staying put, wallowing in grief, living in fear of the Romans they are sent in a different direction….to Galilee, to a new ministry. They are given hope and possibilities. They are given the gift of resurrection, but they could only experience resurrection when they let go of what they thought they knew.

Removing the Seventh Rock

Jesus’ life and death carry transformative power for the world. When we are tempted to carry on with life as usual may the wonder of the story call us to faithful discipleship. The stone that sealed the tomb no longer holds us. We live in the freedom of new life in Christ as we share in the resurrection.

Why have you abandoned me?

The stories of Holy Week and Good Friday, invite us to feel our own pain, suffering and hurt. They give us a space to lament all the things that seem violent and oppressive in the world. For a few days, we are given permission to wallow in the suffering.

Sometimes, the pain and suffering can feel overwhelming. It can seem like that’s all there is in the world. Like Psalm 22, like Jesus praying in the garden, like Jesus crying out from the cross, it is ok for us to question God’s presence. It is ok for us to feel like we are abandoned. Questioning God’s presence is not a sign of weakness. It creates space for us to be surprised.

Even in moments of fear and despair, we are invited to seek hope. Hope comes from our trust that even when we don’t feel like God is present, God will show up for us. God comes to us in death and in dying. When I look at the moments when I feel most abandoned, hurt and broken, these are the places God has shown up most powerfully for me. These become the moments that shape my life and my faith.

Know that you are loved and not abandoned as we move through suffering and death this weekend. May you find signs of hope and be surprised by God’s presence.