April 14, 2024 – Easter +2

“Jesus himself stood among [the disciples] 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.” Luke 24:16b – 48

The Gospel lesson we have today comes immediately following the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, three days after the death of Jesus.  In fact, the part of verse 36 that is not included this morning is the fact that the disciples were talking about the events that happened to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when Jesus came and stood among them. So, two disciples had come to tell the others that they had this incredible encounter with the risen Jesus, and the other disciples were trying to make sense of their story. And then Jesus comes and stands among them. It is no wonder they were scared and confused. And while they are in the moment, they are trying to make sense of it all. They know Jesus died on the cross.  They know he was laid in the tomb. They know his body is missing – and they still have not made the association between Jesus trying to teach them that he was going to rise from the dead, and the fact that he actually did rise from the dead. So they are confused – and frankly, they are scared – and so you can imagine the disciples saying to one another “What is going on here?”

So what would Jesus do before he left his disciples? Well, once Jesus convinced the disciples that he was not a ghost, that it was the risen Jesus among them, Jesus decided there were two more things to do before he left.  Before Jesus left this earth, He opened their minds to understand the scriptures – and He gave them a mission – Jesus told them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all the world. Jesus wants to make sure there are people like you and me who can tell his story without wanting anything from Jesus – because Jesus has given us all that we need.  There is nothing more we could get from Jesus. We just have to fight the fear of what others think of us for being his disciples – his children – and are willing to be there and tell his story without wanting anything else. 

Pastor Dave