04-04-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 4, 2024
In Sunday’s sermon, I will look at Luke’s next resurrection account. Yesterday, I mentioned the Road to Emmaus, where two unnamed individuals met the resurrected Christ during a meal. On Sunday, we will be turning to the very next story, where Jesus, fresh from the tomb and a walk along the road between Jerusalem and Emmaus, meets his disciples. Jesus greeted them, and it says they were terrified because they thought they had encountered a ghost. Last Sunday, we were talking about zombies, and today it is ghosts. But I find it quite interesting how the disciples who had heard Jesus talk about both his death and his resurrection are bewildered by his resurrected presence. They denied any thought of his death, and even when it happened, they could not fathom the second part of what he had taught them: resurrection. How often do we talk ourselves out of a God-moment, even when our expectations have been well primed? Why is it that we can read the words of Jesus, who told his followers how they’d do even greater things than he had done (John 14), yet when an opportunity arose to join a radical expression of divine love, we were the first to suggest it was an apparition? I sort of wonder if it might be helpful to the church moving forward if we stopped acting surprised when Jesus and the fullest expression of his character made an appearance. What might happen if we actually welcomed him and what he brought?

Though we can often be oblivious to your presence, O Living Christ, we pray this day for the capacity to actually notice, acknowledge and embrace your presence when it arrives. Amen.