Posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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EASTER TUESDAY

14 April Anno + Domini 2009

 "The Resurrected Jesus Is No Ghost”

Luke 24:36-49

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

He is Risen!  (He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!)

Picture the scene.  The Emmaus disciples, whom we met yesterday, have traveled the seven miles back to Jerusalem to find the disciples and tell them about their encounter with Jesus.  "You won't believe this.  We just spent time with Jesus.  He walked with us and opened up the Scriptures to us, explaining to us how Moses and all the Prophets testify concerning Him.  We were amazed at His teaching, but, get this, we didn't even know it was Jesus who was walking and talking with us.  But, then, something miraculous happened.  We invited Him to sup with us and as He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to us, we recognized Him.  It was Jesus Himself, we know it was.  But, just then, as we recognized Him, He vanished from our sight.”

Can you imagine the excitement that must have been pulsing through that room?  Jesus is making appearances.  Jesus, their Teacher, the One who was put to death on the cross, is making appearances.  What did this mean?  To whom would Jesus appear next?  And, as they are discussing these very things, lo and behold, there appears Jesus, standing in their midst.  He just shows up.  Out of the blue.  The disciples are huddled together in a room behind locked doors for fear, and, all of a sudden, there is Jesus standing among them.  They think He's a ghost, a mere spirit.  Can you blame them?  People inhabiting bodies don't just show up like this.  Bodies can't go through locked doors.  Bodies can't just appear in one place and then another.  Bodies are bound to time and space.  There are rules for bodies.  Just try to walk through a door yourself without opening it.  You'll see. 

So, they think He's a ghost.  And, they're afraid.  That's the natural reaction for people who think they see ghosts.  Fear.  So, Jesus tries to calm their fears.  The first words out of His mouth are, "Peace to you.”  But, it doesn't help all that much.  They still think He's a ghost.  They're still afraid.  So, Jesus invites them to touch Him and see for themselves that He is no ghost, but real Flesh and Blood.  But, they still disbelieve.  They're in a state of shock.  This all happened too quickly for them to take it all in.  So, Jesus asks them for something to eat and, taking a piece of broiled fish, He eats it before them.  This is more convincing.  After all, spirits can't eat.  It takes real teeth to chew, real throats to swallow, real stomachs to digest.  Jesus is resurrected in real Flesh and Blood, after all. 

The disciples are wowed by this.  They shouldn't be.  Jesus told them this would happen.  And, everything He told them would happen - that He would suffer and die and rise again on the third day - was foretold in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.  So, as He did with the Emmaus disciples, Jesus opens up their minds to understand the Scriptures.  He catechizes them, for they are to be His witnesses, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And, He will send them the Promise of His Father, the Holy Spirit, who will clothe them with power from on high to fulfill the Word and Sacrament Ministry He calls and ordains them to fulfill. 

Dear friends in Christ, this same Word and Sacrament Ministry continues to this day.  The same charge given to the apostles is given to all men who are called and ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry.  That charge is to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins.  To baptize and to catechize.  To administer the Holy Supper of Christ's very Body and Blood. 

But, it's all a bit unbelievable, isn't it?  I mean, if we're honest with ourselves, we'll recognize that we're often more like the unbelieving disciples in that locked room on the first Easter evening than we'd like to be.  They struggled to understand how Jesus could appear in Flesh and Blood out of the blue, in the middle of a room which barred entrance with locked doors, even as we struggle to understand how Jesus can appear in His real Flesh and Blood upon the altar, or how He can apply His Word to simple water and bestow forgiveness and faith, or how a sinful man stand before us and say, "I forgive you,” and actually bestow forgiveness upon us. 

Repent!  Do not disbelieve, but believe.  The same Jesus who appeared to the disciples in His resurrected Flesh on Easter Evening does, in fact, appear to you here in His Holy House.  He is no ghost; no phantom of your imagination.  He does not locate Himself merely in your hearts and minds.  He comes - really comes - in His preached Word, that you might hear His voice, as all His sheep do.  He announces His Word of Absolution to you who have acknowledged and confessed your sins.  And, wonder of wonders, He gives His Flesh as Real Food and His Blood as Real Drink in the Holy Eucharist for your forgiveness and to strengthen your faith. 

Can you understand it all?  No, but you can believe it, for He was true to His Word - as He always is - and sent the Promise of His Father, the Holy Spirit, who fills you with the faith to believe in things you can neither fully understand nor fully see with your earthly eyes. 

So, come, dear friends, in that faith - in true repentance and sincere faith - and receive the very Body and Blood of the crucified and resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ.  Come in reverence and awe, but do not fear, for here your Lord welcomes you as His beloved guests to receive the eternal blessings He so desires to bestow upon you, that you might depart with forgiveness, life, and salvation, and the peace which alone comes from being united to Him.  All glory, honor, and praise be to our Resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.    

He is risen!  (He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!)      

Now the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting.  Amen.