“While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “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.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:36b – 49

It is late at night. News has spread throughout the community of disciples that the tomb was empty. Some have stated to have seen the “Risen” Jesus. “Risen Jesus?” What could that mean? There would be no context for a risen anybody……

Alright, we know about Lazarus – but I am not so sure too many others know about him. The disciples do. But even with that event, I am sure there were doubts – like maybe Lazarus wasn’t really dead. So the context of a risen “anybody” would still be foreign to them – the only way someone comes back from the dead is that they are some ethereal spirit – a ghost. These were superstitious people – anything we might call paranormal today would have be interpreted as something demonic – or other-worldly – certainly beyond their comprehension. But while these two disciples are telling the other eleven that they have seen Jesus, suddenly he appears in their midst. There he was. He first appeared to Simon, Peter. Then he appeared to the two, including Cleopas and his friend. Now he is in the midst of all of them. And their reaction?  Certainly not joy, at first. It is doubt, mixed with amazement, terror, and joy.

This is the third appearance – and Jesus is getting a little disturbed with their doubt. What else could he do to convince them – to get them to drop the skepticism? He does for them what he did for Thomas in last weeks Gospel – he shows them his hands and his feet. If you remember with Thomas, Jesus told him to put his fingers in the nail holes in his hands, and to put his hand in his side. Here Jesus tells them to look at his hands and his feet – and then he tells them to touch him – grab hold of him – he is not a ghost.

Did they do that?

Well, we don’t know. They were still doubting. Would you have taken Jesus up on his offer and walked over to hug him? After all, dead people do not come back to life. And live people do not just appear in a room and disappear – or alive people do not walk through walls. And, look, once you are dead – you are dead. Doubt did not just creep in with Thomas, doubt was contagious among all of the disciples. Doubt was the prevailing thought – not belief. Jesus was going to have to do something else – something big – something so spectacular that no one would doubt. Put yourself in the minds of the disciples, and the other followers. And not just those within a generation of his death, but those 100, 200 even 300 years following his death. They would debate and argue over the details of Jesus – his relationship with the Father, the role of the Holy Spirit. It would take an Ecumenical Council in the fourth and fifth centuries to nail it all down – no pun intended. They would agree on two universal teachings for all Christians – two Dogma:

1. We understand, believe and teach that G-d is known to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
2. We understand, believe and teach that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine – simultaneously – not half and half – not a drop of humanity in an ocean of divinity – not that he just “appeared to be human but was only divine”.

In the moment though, Jesus has no time for an ecumenical council – he has no time to debate the issues with his disciples – so he says:

“Can I have a bite to eat?”

What – Really Jesus? You are hungry?

How else is he going to prove to his disciples that the post-resurrection body is both flesh and bone – and spirit?  How do we know? Because Jesus asked for a piece of broiled fish, and he eats it, right there, in front of them all. It is really Jesus – flesh and blood – bone and spirit – and now, they believe. How do we know they believed? Because you and I are sitting here 2000 years later still worshipping and talking about the resurrected Jesus. Do we have doubts? Of course we do. We are human. We are no different than those early disciples. We are no different than those followers of the Ecumenical Councils, trying to make sense of something so terrific and awesome that it is mind blowing.

But truly, my friends, this is why we need to come to the table of communion and share in the meal of his body and blood often – because we have our doubts – and we have our trials – and we have our struggles – and we need Jesus to come to us often to remind us that everything written about him in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms has been fulfilled. And we need to come to church often so that the scriptures are opened to us – so that we can fulfill the mission Jesus has given us – to be witnesses of all these things.

Pastor Dave

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Mark 4:3-9

“Mark is hardly a cheerful optimist about the human capacity to fulfill the will of God. He knows well the weakness of the flesh, the deceitfulness of the heart, and the darkness of the mind. Nonetheless, the call to discipleship is given and repeated again and again. There is not the slightest hint in this Gospel that the requirements of God must be prudentially tailored or “realistically” limited because of human weakness. Rather, the demand for self-sacrificial discipleship is uncompromising. Just as the sower in Mark’s programmatic parable of the sower (4:3–9) sows seed indiscriminately on good soil and bad, so Mark’s call to discipleship is for anyone who has “ears to hear.” The seed may be wasted on many, but those who “hear the word and accept it” will in the end yield a rich harvest, “thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” (Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament (pp. 82-83). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

How are you doing being an Easter person? Here we are now twelve days into the Easter season, and have we already forgotten about the cross, the empty tomb and the risen Jesus who has been unleashed into the world? We have so many things to worry about right now – vaccinations, family, bills – it is easy to forget things like, well, your seven-word Gospel phrase to share with others. Of course I could take the argument of Richard Hays who talks about the human capacity to be distracted by the “..weakness of the flesh, the deceitfulness of the heart, and the darkness of the mind.” Perhaps this is at the “heart” of why we are distracted from the path of the cross – we become weak in heart, mind and body.

When we feel as if we have forgotten our calling as disciples, we can return to our seven-word phrases and use them as a mantra for our prayer life. The disciples received grace upon grace from Jesus due to their continued misunderstanding of who Jesus was and what he was teaching them. Though much of what Jesus is doing or saying to us may fall on thorny soil in our lives, there still is the good soil within each one of us where faith and good works will grow exponentially.

Pastor Dave

April 17, 2021 – Who?

“Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” Mark 10:23-27

“For example, in Mark 10:17–31, Jesus promulgates an astounding teaching about wealth. He tells a rich seeker after “eternal life” to sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, and join the ranks of Jesus’ itinerant disciples. The man goes away “grieving, for he had many possessions.” This predictable response elicits from Jesus the entirely unpredictable remark that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” In response to the disciples’ astonished query, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus offers an enigmatic response: “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” The capacity to respond in obedience is a mysterious possibility granted by God…” (Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament (p. 83). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

“Who then can be saved?” – it is the question that has haunted humanity (at least those who have suffered from some existential angst over the years) for thousands of years. Jesus seems to set the bar unbelievably high: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone…” No matter how you finish that sentence we are already defeated even before we began.

1. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for me to grow hair on my head.”
2. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for me to work my way into heaven.”

Point “A” is a truism in my life. So is point “B”. There is nothing you or I can do to work our way into heaven. Richard Hays states it this way: that even our “…capacity to respond in obedience is a gift granted by God.” Which is another truism for Lutherans. Our response in faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit working in each one of us. Which takes the responsibility out of our hands and puts it back into G-d’s hands. We cannot take the credit for our good works, but we also cannot take the blame. What we can do is turn to the Holy Spirit, in faith, and say “…not our will Lord but Your will be done in our lives.”

So you see, for mortals it is impossible. But for G-d – well, all things are possible.

Pastor Dave