Because we read the different resurrection appearances to the disciples across the weeks that follow Easter morning, it’s easy to forget that this story from Luke, and the one we heard last week from John, are all set on that first day, the same day the women had found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.
Now late in the evening of that first Easter, the disciples are together, talking about the day’s events - events we haven’t heard about in the assigned texts. First Jesus appeared to two other disciples as they walked to the village Emmaus some seven miles away, but they did not recognize him until he took bread, blessed it , broke it and gave it to them, and then Luke says that Jesus appeared to Simon Peter.
And here Jesus appears again. Following the same instructions that he gave his disciples when he sent them out in pairs in Luke 10 (and in Matthew 10), he offers a greeting of peace and stands among them. And Luke tells us they are startled and terrified.
Even though he had told them three times already how the Messiah would be betrayed by human hands, be killed and be raised again. (Luke 9:21-22, 9:43-44, 18:31-33) The truth Jesus had revealed remained hidden from them.
Even though at least three of them saw Jesus earlier in the day. It was easier to believe they were seeing things or that Jesus was a ghost. They could not yet trust that the resurrection was real.
So Jesus shows them his hands and his feet and how he is flesh and bone, and not imaginary or a phantom, and then he does what he had done again and again throughout his ministry in Galilee: he eats with them. Luke removes any doubt about the reality of the resurrection. Watching Jesus eat in front of them gives the disciples, and all of us who are hearing this account, physical proof to allay any doubts or suspicions that linger.
Eating the disciples’ leftovers, Jesus shows them that he is the same man who took five loaves and two fish, blessed them and broke them and gave them to the crowds, feeding five thousand men. (Luke 9) He is the same man they knew in the breaking of the bread, on the night he was arrested. (Luke 22). The same man who they had heard about from the women, from Cleopas and his companion and from Simon Peter.
Jesus lives and they are witnesses to his resurrection.
There’s a second reason for Jesus to eat with the disciples though. All through Luke’s gospel, Jesus demonstrates a wide welcome as he gathers people around him in table fellowship, eating with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:30, 15:1-2), breaking taboos and including outsiders in the meal. (Nissen, 57) And now he includes the disbelievers, the ones who are wondering, and the ones who are afraid.
I would guess that “disbelieving, wondering and afraid” describe each one of us at some point in our lives, so it is good news that Jesus doesn’t leave anybody out.
Instead, Jesus meets us where we are and invites us into relationship as we are. We follow Jesus with our whole selves. Even in our joy at being in the sanctuary or hearing the organ resonating today, we wonder why God doesn’t stop the violence that has killed innocent people in places like Rock Hill and Indianapolis. Or where God is when we are angry or disappointed because something in our lives has gone horribly wrong and we feel utterly alone. Or we struggle to believe even though we’ve heard the Word spoken, and we’ve seen God in events in our lives because, sometimes, as the disciples experienced, the truth of God’s love, forgiveness and redemption seems too good to be real.
Jesus doesn’t cast out the disciples or turn away from them when they show their disbelief, wonder or fear. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength (1Cor. 1:25) God knows us and knows we are works in progress. We cannot redeem ourselves by our own merit or understanding; we cannot save ourselves or be made righteous apart from Christ. “Works in progress” are, by definition, unfinished, still developing. They aren’t deficient or flawed; they’re simply not yet complete. God makes us complete in Christ.
The Good News today is that Jesus lives and because he lives, we live, with both our wondering and our joy.
We live, with both our disbelief and our worship.
We live, with both our fears and our confidence in God’s love for us.
Today, Jesus invites us to celebrate being in relationship with the living Lord, who sees us and knows us fully and completely.
Let us pray…
Good and gracious God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus whose life, death and resurrection are the foundation for our faith and life with You.
Thank you for your abundant grace that you forgive us even when we cannot see You are with us or we forget your Word and promises.
Stand among us and give us your peace so that we may be your witnesses in a world that does not know peace.
We pray in the name of our risen Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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