Christ Among Us -- A Message for April 18, 2021

 

This morning our passage comes just after Jesus appeared to two of his disciples on the Road to Emmaus.  The people who had the encounter with Jesus rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others that they had run into Jesus on the road and failed to realize until later they were walking with him.  The story picks up when the disciples were talking about Jesus’ appearance on the road….listen to how the story continues in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24, verses thirty-six through forty-eight:

Scripture Reading                                    Luke 24:36b-48

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 

He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 

And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 

and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 

and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

You are witnesses of these things. 

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Prayer for Understanding

God of Word and Wisdom, when the Risen Christ interpreted the scripture to his friends, their hearts burned with excitement. Send us your Holy Spirit to open the scriptures for us today, revealing truth and love that will fill our hearts and change our lives, too. Amen.

    I received my first Covid Vaccination on Tuesday.  I have been eagerly awaiting my opportunity to get a shot, and was pleased to finally get an appointment at the Delaware Valley Community Health offices in Norristown.

    I have talked to many people, though, who are not looking forward to being vaccinated.  People have told me various things:  they are concerned about complications from the vaccine; they are worried about long-term side effects; they are worried about the vaccines not being tested enough before release; they are afraid of needles. One of the women who swims at the Y with me told me she wants to build a natural resistance to Covid-19 – she wants to be exposed to Covid germs so that she builds immunity to them.  There are many people who doubt the safety of vaccines available.  And, the temporary halt of using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has increased those doubts.
 

   In the days and weeks following Jesus’ Easter resurrection, Jesus friends and followers were also doubtful.  Stories of encounters with the resurrected Jesus started trickling in, yet there were still doubts.   In today’s reading, a post-resurrection Jesus arrived in the room with his friends and worked to assure them he was really resurrected.  Jesus invited the disciples to touch his body – to touch his skin – to feel his tender wounds.  And, Jesus asked for food and ate it in the presence of his friends – apparently, ghosts can’t eat.  All of Jesus’ actions in the room that day convinced the doubters that Jesus was resurrected and was alive once again.
            
    Christianity was born as the disciples who doubted became believers in Jesus’ resurrection. This shift was foundational for our faith. Those men and women transformed from Jesus’ followers to becoming the leaders of the Christian faith. They became evangelists, church leaders, advisors, healers, and preachers. They were compelled to share the teachings of Jesus far and wide, to enlighten others the way they had been enlightened. When their doubts about the resurrection became belief, they had an additional important component to add to the story of Christianity – God’s infinite love extended to forgiving the people who put Jesus to death when Jesus took upon himself the sins of the people of the world. And, God loves the people of the world so much that “…. neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8) The disciples who stopped being doubters and became believers were called to tell everyone about “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,…”

    In this strange time of COvid-19, as people of faith, we are challenged in new ways to extend love towards our neighbors. When the virus was first in our environment, we were unsure how the virus was being spread. We were told that Americans didn’t need to wear masks, then we were told Americans do need to wear masks. We were told to wash our hands and constantly use hand sanitizer. Our playgrounds were shut down and we were ordered to stay at home. And, we did all of these things because we were working together to reduce the spread of the virus so that our hospitals and ICU wards would not be overwhelmed by patients.

    Now, we are getting vaccinated. And, we are getting vaccinated not only to protect ourselves but also to protect other people. We are getting vaccinated because as Christians we have a mandate to love our neighbors. We love them by working to not spread the virus to them. Even if we think we are healthy, and our bodies will be able to recover from the virus if we get it, that may not be true for the people we come in contact with. And, since children are not able to get vaccinated yet, we have a special responsibility to love the children we are protecting by not spreading the virus to them.

    Jesus friends transformed from doubters to believers in the days that followed Jesus’ resurrection. And, they went from being “recipients” of Jesus’ teachings to being teachers themselves. They went from listeners to speakers. They went from being worker bees to the people were the visible leaders of our faith. Their doubts were transformed to belief and they worked for the good of the people they encountered, people who needed to hear about the transforming love and grace of our God.

    We are called as people of faith to share the love of God with the people we encounter. And, in these days of Covid, part of sharing that love is by not sharing the virus. So, let us love our neighbors, share the good news of Jesus Christ, and work together to transform doubts to belief.

May we do so in love. Amen.

** Artwork is "Jesus of the Bayou" by  Lauren Wright Pittman