The Peace of Christ

Sermon Notes, Easter 3, 2021 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40 Sometimes seeing is not believing. Disciples saw Jesus, yet they couldn't really believe it was him. Cleopas and friend walked and talked with Jesus, but did not recognize him. In both instances Jesus is clearly visible, yet he remains "unseen." The eyes may see, but the heart doesn't recognize. Why is that? What is it about the resurrected Jesus' appearance that fails to break though and comfort, assure, and overjoy his disciples? Luke tells us the problem lies more with the disciples than with Jesus himself. Yes there is the incredulity of it all. People don't come back from the dead. The impossibility of the resurrection is a formidable barrier to believing in it. That impossibility is partly allayed by assuming Jesus is only partially resurrected. He's a phantasmic personality. Steven A. Cooper writes: Some Christians assumed that Jesus' resurrection appearances were that of a spirit or ghost; his demonstration of corporeality through eating fish puts to rest any such possibility (vv. 42-43). The Gospel intends something quite different: Luke and John present not a ghost or disembodied spirit but a living, walking, talking, and eating Jesus, alive as you and me.1 Even when assured that he is before them physically, just as they knew him, they're still troubled. What's standing between them and Jesus, blocking them from receiving the peace he offers. In a word: fear. They are in a room behind a locked door, for fear. Outside that door are enemies who might kill them like they killed Jesus. Soldiers who may be charged to find them and kill them. The world is in chaos and no one is on their side. The courage they had before was centered in Jesus himself. They had a certain boldness when he was with them. Not much boldness, but some. A boldness that soon evaporated under stress. Now that he was dead, only a locked door offered them a measure of security. The thing about a locked door is that it doesn't lock out fear, fear passes right through it. At that moment the disciples could not be further away from Jesus' call upon them. He called them to be fishers of men. He called them to be his witnesses to the world. Where are they? In a room behind a locked door. It's either been one colossal failure, a complete misappropriation of resources, or the story's end is premature. The last chapter of Luke's Gospel is the prelude to Acts. These same disciples will emerge from that locked room and experience a true boldness such as the world had never seen. They would do everything that Jesus called them to do, and more. Take a look at our first reading from Acts 4 this morning. 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. The transformation began that evening in the locked room. What changed? How did they move out from behind that crippling fear to be the Apostles of the Faith? First, they met the resurrected Jesus in person. In his earthly body and in his heavenly Spirit. Jesus who could walk through a door and eat fish with them. Fear of death is probably the root of all fears and here was Jesus proving that death no longer had that power. He defeated death and his body was the proof. This was a cause for joy but it still didn't apply to them. Luke draws these two enigmatic emotions together in a sentence that reads like a typo. He says they disbelieved for joy. Joy that their old belief, that death was final, is now disbelief. A new belief is released into the world, manifested in Jesus who died and then ate fish with them. Second, Jesus explained himself to them through scripture. He did the same thing earlier in the evening with Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus. In both cases their eyes are opened. Then Luke says something quite extraordinary. He says, "45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures..." It's not just that Jesus explained the scriptures to them, but he opened their minds to it. Meeting Jesus in person allowed them to see Jesus in God's word. A resurrection relationship involves both the person of Jesus and his story as revealed in the Bible. The one opens up the other, and both are needed to really know who Jesus is. Third, he promises them that this appearance with them is not a one-off or isolated event, but will be the norm from now on. He is going to send them who the Father promised, the Holy Spirit. The Son will be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit who will be for them everything Jesus himself was. John 14:16. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever." John 14:26. "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Fourthly, he gives them something to look forward to. Better days are coming. Remain in the city until you receive the power. They have barely started on the journey and have no real idea of what lies ahead. But they have Jesus' word that they will be clothed with power. In that locked room, Jesus drives away the disciples' fear by showing them he is alive, opening their minds to see him in scripture, assuring them that he will always be with them, and equipping them with power that they have never known before. This is all in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is not Pentecost; it is getting ready for Pentecost. If fear is the enemy, peace is the antidote. The disciples' experience is familiar to ours. Fear still has a lot of power over us. There is always something threatening us, making us want to go into a room and lock the door. Maybe it is the 4th wave of COVID. Or the sabre rattling of the world's powers. Or the sudden violence of a shooter at the supermarket. Jesus still greets us saying, "Peace be with you." He meets our fear with his whole presence, victor over death and every other fear we know. As we move deeper into Eastertide may we fear less, trust more. When we "Pass the peace" today may we realize that Jesus' peace is a claim on our life. What we pass isn't a cheerful greeting, but a fearless affirmation that Jesus lives, in body and Spirit. 1 Cooper, S. A. (2008). Theological Perspective on Luke 24:36b-48. In D. L. Bartlett & B. B. Taylor (Eds.), Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B (Vol. 2, pp. 424-426). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------