April 26, 2009 Message

1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:13-49
"Have You Anything Here To Eat"

36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look 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.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence. – Luke 24:36-42

“…for we will see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2

Again this week we hear a resurrected Jesus saying to his followers, “Peace be with you.” His first words to the Church gathered for the first time after his resurrection is: “Don’t be frightened with what’s going on and don’t doubt what God is doing; be strong. See, it’s me. I’m here!”

Then he asked them, "Have You Anything Here To Eat?"

What’s the chance, the disciples were stunned and confused, if not terrified, when they heard him say that? Imagine what you might feel like if Jesus physically appeared to us right now, here in this room and said, “Don’t be afraid; it’s me.” “Have You Anything Here To Eat?”

The neat thing about this is that Jesus reaches beyond the disciples (and our) doubts – and they all had doubts (not just Thomas). So, he lets them touch him so they know he is real. He shows them his hands and feet, proof that their experience is no hoax. Jesus has substance, unlike a ghost. The experience of the Risen Lord was tactile. It was real.

And then, he says "Have You Anything Here To Eat?" Unlike John, Luke has the disciples giving Jesus the cooked fish to eat. Fish and bread was a common meal then, and was a regular part of life on the road with Jesus and his followers. They give him some fish and he eats with them. It was important for Jesus to eat food in front of them to show them he was physically present and not just a ghost. The people in Jerusalem back then believed in Ghosts, but they didn’t believe that ghosts ate food.

Once Jesus has done the very human thing of eating the fish, he shares scripture with them. The signs of breaking bread and eating fish combine with the Word of God to help the disciples (and us) to make some sense of "all of this." The combination of seeing Jesus, of being with him, and the sharing of the Word together, opened their hearts and minds.

Just think what Jesus did on that day. He appeared in Jerusalem to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, and to the other women in the morning. He appeared seven miles away in Emmaus to the two on the road and finally to his disciples behind locked doors in Jerusalem. He was physically present all over the place!

And how people experienced Jesus that day was important. He appeared as a living, solid form. The details reported in Luke make it very clear that it was the same body that was crucified that is now resurrected and what they are seeing is not a ghost. This would be important to the spirituality of Christianity – holiness was not only a spiritual matter, but could be found in the tangible as well. This was the actual Jesus who died on the cross, whose wounds were seen. It wasn't a ghost, but the physical body of Jesus who ate right before the disciples’ eyes.

The experience of the early disciples who touched Jesus, put their hands in his wounds and heard his voice, fed his hunger and received his blessing, is the same experience of Christians today who feed the hungry, break bread together, hunger for God's blessing, and respond to the call to once again turn our lives toward God. When we, like the early followers, experience Christ in a “real and tangible way” in our world, how does it feel? We’re told they were amazed and joyful – thinking this is “too good to be true!”

Because of the resurrection, everything is different for us, and not just on Easter Sunday. Nothing ever is quite the same, including us. And yet, this doesn't have to be (and often isn’t) something that happens completely and all at once, for us or for the early disciples. Instead, Lindner says, for them and for us, it happens "by fits and starts, in hours of doubt and moments of exhilaration, with days of numbness and mourning punctuated by brief moments of holy presence and powerful certainty. Their story is indeed good news for the spaces and places in our own world in which enduring evidence of the resurrection's reign seems to be in short supply"

Most importantly, today’s gospel adds to our understanding that Jesus can be, and is, with us in all places and any time. He does not exist within the boundaries of our senses or the borders of our dimensions. He is present and transcendent at the same time!

His presence helped overcome the doubts and fears that overwhelmed his scared followers! The power of experiencing of the risen Jesus allowed the early Christians to believe. It helps us as well, making it possible for us to step out in our faith - and all who pray, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief [Mk 9:24].” This prayer goes to the very essence of the name (the character) of God: “I am who I need to be, whenever and wherever I need to be it in order to bring you to me!”

Isn’t it good news to know this God of ours will do whatever is necessary to heal our scars, cast out our fears and chase away our doubts? In amazement and joy we can say, “The Lord IS risen and IS here today!” Christ stands before us - even today - saying:
"Have You Anything Here To Eat?"


what if … © Jennie Gordon 2009
Luke 24:36b - 48

you stand among us
smelling of broken bread
and invite us to touch
but I can’t reach out
because, what if …

what if I feel torn flesh
beneath my fingers
and your woundedness
seeps into the pit of my soul
and the world’s pain
screams, tortured and unrelenting
through the holes in your hands
what if …

what if I feel nothing
and you withdraw your offer,
moments before
I have a chance to connect
with the presence of you in the room
and I am left fumbling and foolish
clutching at air,
reaching for everything, anything,
anywhere, what if …

what if you stand among us
and all our defences
and reasons for unbelief
fall to the floor like old (worn out clothes)
and in our nakedness and shame
you forgive us, clothe and send us,
in your name.