April 26: The church was founded
by the Risen Christ on Easter eve
A pastor decided he’d try
something really different for his children's message. Instead of beginning
with some story about Jesus, he’d mimic the actions of
a forest creature, and ask leading questions -- "I have fur and a bushy
tail. I gather nuts. My nose twitches. What am I?" After seconds of
agonizing silence, the "good girl" in the group raises her hand and
responds: "I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but it sounds like a
squirrel to me!"
The scene in the gospel is the upper room on Easter
eve, and a mysterious figure suddenly appears among the disciples. Who is it?
They’re terrified and might have said: “I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus,
but it looks like a ghost to me.”
In response to their obvious distress Jesus asks
them Why are you frightened, and why do
doubts arise in your minds? Luke
24:38
Obviously just standing in front of them isn’t going to get them to believe what they are seeing, so
Jesus says Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me.
A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can tell I have.
For the disciples “seeing is not
believing”. So
they do touch him.
They’re almost convinced, but still “disbelieving
and wondering for joy..”
Those skeptical disciples would need additional
evidence if they were to trust what they were experiencing.
So then Jesus asks “Have
you got anything to eat?’
They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it
in their presence.
Can you picture that scene. The amazed disciples gathered at the table
and watching Jesus eat a piece of fish?
Jesus’ presence is mysterious, but real. It eludes human perception, and yet is not
human fabrication. The resurrected Jesus
is continuous with the earthly Jesus - “it is I myself” - yet different.
Were their doubts erased?
Were they convinced that Jesus was a real and resurrected person?
Maybe - maybe not.
We come to worship for different reasons. Some come in doubt, some in a certain
faith, most somewhere in between. The church welcomes all comers, regardless of
their faith or lack of it. To them it repeats the words of Jesus: "Come...
see... touch."
It is acceptable to come to such a church -- even to join it -- while still
asking the hard questions. Such was true for those first disciples, who -- like
most of us -- didn't have it all together. Jesus
welcomed them. He welcomes us, as well, and through the words
of the Bible would teach us, so that our faith might grow as theirs did.
Jesus showed up in the midst of the bewildered,
fearful and unbelieving disciples. They’re surprised to see Him because they really hadn’t
believed what he had told them about rising on the third day. They had failed to understand the
scriptures. Thus
the basis of their faith community had been lost. All they shared was fear. So Jesus re-directed
them back to the scriptures.
Jesus began to teach them, as he had done before,
recalling words spoken in His ministry: “Everything written about me in the law of Moses, and the psalms, and the prophets must be
fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds
to understand those scriptures.
The intrusion of Jesus again into their life
re-gathers and reconstitutes this community around the study of scripture. The foundation of this new community, the
church, will be the Holy Scriptures, the Bible.
That is why it is vital for your faith to be
involved in Bible study. It is through
Bible study together that our faith and insight grows. Jesus is present and
speaks to us as we study His word in the Bible.
Earlier that same day, in the afternoon, Jesus had
appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Again, he led them in Bible study, and they
later said Did not our hearts burn within us
as he opened the scriptures to us. Then
he was at table with them, and they finally recognized Him – they reported how
he had been made known to them in the breaking of the
bread.
How is the risen Jesus present now?
The gospel focuses our attention, not upon the
miracle of the resurrection itself, but upon the community
that is the astonishing outcome of the miracle. The way Jesus will be present
to us is in fellowship with other believers.
As on that first Easter day, the risen Lord is
present when we read and study the Bible.
We can hear His voice speaking to us and His Spirit opens our minds to
understand. The risen Christ appears to
the disciples as they are gathered together in
fellowship – and is with us as we gather for the breaking of the bread, the
Holy Communion, as he commanded.
The resurrection of Jesus is a community forming,
church authorizing event. His appearance
behind locked doors depicts the birth of the church and its reason for being.
Jesus summarized His Bible study with them: “Thus
it is written: the Christ is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third
day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to proclaimed in His name,
beginning right here in Jerusalem - You are witnesses of these things.”
The disciples were not released
from further duty. Their previous lack
of faith and understanding did not disqualify them. Our little faith and limited understanding doesn’t disqualify us either. He had taught them and opened
their minds – now they were to open their mouths - they were to carry the
message of peace and hope to the world around them. They were to witness not only about Christ’s
life, death, and resurrection, but also about the need for repentance and hope
for forgiveness.
You are witnesses of these things.
How could you witness?
When somebody asks you on Monday morning, “What did
you do over the weekend?” don’t say “I went to
church.” Instead, tell them, “I went and
hung out with a bunch of sinners!”
Why?
Because this is a sinner hangout and I am chief sinner! The truth is, the church is not for perfect
people, it’s for sinners. Everybody has blown it. But the rest of the
world hasn’t realized it or won’t own up to it because of their own pride. At least by coming here you’re
making an attempt, saying, “I want to grow.
I want to develop. I want to be
more than I am.”
Every day we can be resurrected
with Christ. In some way
we die in our sins each day. Our lives
become dead and worthless through our constant sin and rebellion. However, by God’s grace we are reborn new,
forgiven and raised up again. Our sins kill us, but Christ’s forgiveness makes
us alive again.
We can offer to others the hope of salvation and
wholeness - the promise of healing and new life now - made possible of Christ’s
resurrection - by inviting them to hang out with a bunch of sinners on Sunday.
With their mission came the promise of
empowerment.
You are witnesses of all these
things. And now
I will send the Holy Spirit, as my Father promised. Luke 24:48,49
Jesus will be present in a new and more powerful
way. His presence is no longer limited
to a specific earthly body, that can be present in
only one place at a time. After his
resurrection, Christ is freed from the limitations of
time and space.
One of those disciples who were in the upper room on
Easter eve might have described what happen “Though we were as good as dead,
Jesus returned to us. If you think it’s
hard to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, it’s almost impossible to
believe that he was raised and returned to us - the ones who had forsaken and
denied him.”
The result of the resurrection is the church - a
community of people that gets together because the risen Christ is present to
us, despite us.
What does that mean?
When we walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, time and again we realize that we are not
walking alone.
When we come to some dead end in life, we look over
the brink, and find he is awaiting us.
We’re ready to give up, give in, come to
despair, and suddenly find him near to us.
His Spirit is among us today, as he promised
Today
See what love the
Father has given us, that we should be called children
of God.
Their baptism is the sign that they are children of the
heavenly Father.
We are God's children
now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What
we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be
like him. 1 John 3:1f