Dining With Ghosts

Luke 24:36–48 NRSV

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.

Go to any campsite, whether it be a summer camp or just a group of folks out for a weekend of fun in the outdoors, and soon enough everyone will be gathered around a big campfire. And in the glow of the flames someone will take up the old tradition of all campfires, telling a ghost story. Now some of the stories are so old that everyone knows them and can laugh at the end or in appropriate places. But then, sometimes there is a new story that comes along. One that will have the audience on the edge of their seats. One that, when it is over, there is a hush and the only sound heard is the crackle of the campfire. That is the sign of a good ghost story.

If one goes by the movies, it would appear that we like our ghost stories. There are the movies where there is the evil spirit trying to take over a child to have a new body to possess. There is the movie where the main character is killed and is a ghost taking care of loved ones throughout that movie. Then there are ones like the Sixth Sense (warning spoiler alert here) where the main character is found to have been a ghost throughout the entire movie, only no one knew that.

Yes, most of us like a good ghost story. They can be fun and laughable. Or they can be dark and lead us to lying in bed with the lights on and jumping at every noise that we hear. Whatever they are, ghost stories are a part of our lives. And it seems that the disciples knew a ghost story when they heard one. They also thought that they were in one.

A little bit of context needs to be addressed before we go on. Prior to the scripture I read there is the story of two people walking a road to the village of Emmaus. They are joined by another traveler who asks why they are so downcast and they tell him all about the death of Jesus and the story that had been told to them of the empty tomb. This stranger then talks to them about the coming and suffering of the Messiah showing them all the that Law and Prophets told. As they are preparing to eat, they realize that this is Jesus, who then disappears. Realizing what has happened they run all the way back to Jerusalem to find the eleven disciples and others to tell them. This must have taken them some time because Emmaus is about seven miles from Jerusalem. A good runner of a 5K can do so in about 20 minutes or less. But these people were not seasoned runners and it was most likely getting, or was, dark and so they had to take their time to get there.

No matter. They hurry to the city and to the place where the disciples are staying. There they find others with the disciples and they are told that the Lord had been raised and that he appeared to Simon. The two from the Emmaus, most likely trying to get rid of the stitch in their sides tell them of what happened to them.

In the midst of all this excitement, Jesus appears and states “Peace be with you”. One wonders if he appeared suddenly or came through the door. However, he appeared, Jesus gave them the fright of their lives. Imagine a movie with the suspense building and then, the jump scare! This would have been similar. The text tells us that they were startled (probably scared witless would be closer to the truth) because they believed that they were looking at a ghost. In this time there was no problem thinking that they were looking at a ghost. Ghosts were in the popular culture and there was no problem being contradictory to the teachings of the afterlife or the doctrine of the resurrection that was believed to take place at the end of the age. Ghosts were what happened to people and here was for sure one that they were looking at.

Jesus, however, is ready to let them know who and what he is. He asks them why they do not believe. Why are they frightened? Doesn’t someone who they saw die just a few days always come back to life and appear to them all? And why are they doubting still? Were they not told what happened earlier in that day?

But Jesus reaches out to reassure them. He says: “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.”[1] He is showing them his body. He is inviting them to touch him and see that this is the same person that they knew. That this is not a spirit that will vanish and leave them more brokenhearted than they were before. And with those words he shows them his hands and his feet. The text does not say that he showed them the nail prints but that is assumed. Even if Jesus did not show them the nail prints, the invitation to touch him should have been enough.

Yet it is not. Even though they are overjoyed at the sight of the one whom they knew and loved, they are disbelieving and still wondering. They really are stupefied. It would be similar to someone who is meeting someone that they have not seen in a long time suddenly show up. They say, “I know that this person is here, I just can’t believe it!” The disciples are wondering just how this might have happened. Sure, they had been told about it earlier in the day, but by women. And they all knew how much women were to be trusted. And so, they continue to not believe and wonder just what is happening here.

Jesus gives them a final proof that he is not a ghost. He asks for something to eat. Perhaps he was a bit peckish having not eaten anything in Emmaus or he really wanted to prove to them who and what he was. Whatever the case he wants to know if they have anything to eat in the room. They do. He is handed a piece of broiled fish. While they are all watching, he proceeds to eat, proving that he is no spirit. Those gathered in the room knew their stories of spirit and angel visitations: angels and spirits did not eat. Now they knew that this one before them was truly the one whom they had seen die. He was alive and sitting before them eating and inviting them to touch him and know that he was real and not some fleeting thing that would go away from them when the time was right. No, here was one who was as real as real could be.

Jesus then begins to teach them once again. He states that what happened was what must take place and that it was in the books of Moses, the prophets and the psalms. What he is telling them is that everything that was written about the Messiah is to be found in the scriptures that they know and revere. What we call the Old Testament is what they would have known as scripture. And Jesus is telling them that what he had taught them while he was still with them was to be found in the writings of the books that they knew.

He “opens” their minds as he did with the two travelers in Emmaus and reveals the scriptures to them. Before their minds were closed. Whether their minds were closed because they did not understand or because they just did not see, we do not know. It just says that their minds were now opened to the scriptures. The scriptures that said that the Messiah had to die and would be raised the third day. Here was the fulfillment of that scripture to them.

But wait, there’s more! Jesus goes on to state that the scriptures also say that “…repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.[2]” In other words, this news that was given to them, that they saw and heard, that they now believed was to be told to all the world. And it was to begin in Jerusalem right here where they were. The message was to be one of proclamation of what happened to the Messiah and by the same token the disciples themselves. They are the witnesses to this and they are to take this message to the world. They are to be the ones who tell the good news that they have seen and heard.

So, why am I telling you another post resurrection story? Didn’t we cover this last week? Well, yes and no. In John there is no mention of Jesus eating with the disciples in the room where they were gathered. There is no mention of them thinking that he is a ghost. The disciples believe when Jesus shows them his hands and his side. Luke is telling a different story. Luke wants us to understand that the disciples needed to be convinced that their minds are not playing tricks on them. They needed to touch Jesus and see him eat. Even then we are not told that they were completely convinced.

It is only when Jesus opens their minds and teaches them the scriptures again that they begin to understand. They need to be taught by one who understands the meaning in the scriptures so that they too will understand. We need to have the scriptures opened to us as well. The Holy Spirit illumines the scripture for us so that we can fully understand what has been written and is being taught. If the Spirit does not illumine the words to us, then we can read them many times and never understand. And we have many wise teachers who can illuminate the scriptures for us as well. But even for those teachers the Holy Spirit does the job that Jesus was doing for his disciples.

There is another component to the story at the very end. Jesus tells them that they are the witnesses to the things that he has just taught them: the fulfillment of the scriptures about the Messiah dying and being raised from the dead, that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be preached to the whole world. They are the ones who will go out and do this. This gives us just a taste of what lies ahead in the book of Acts. We are called to do the same. We have a mission as well. Our mission is to proclaim the one who was raised and the change in our lives as well as those of the disciples.

When we work toward the kingdom of God in soup kitchens or in church kitchens, when we work with those who are the least of these, we proclaim what Jesus told the disciples. Our mission is to tell the world about the one who was raised, who causes us to not fear what can happen because death has been conquered and we know what lies ahead.

And we are to remember that the disciples went from unbelieving to full belief. Not because they were convinced that the tomb was empty, but because they met Jesus. We might not have the same experience the disciples had but we do know that Jesus is with us. The most common place where we meet him is in communion. He is present with us when we share this meal with each other. We are no longer dining with ghosts, but with the one who was raised from the dead who gives us new life and who goes with us wherever we may go. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.

[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.