Midweek Musings for Sunday, April 19, 2015

Easter 3

This week's reflection comes from Rev. Frank C. Hanrahan

Genesee Finger Lakes Conference Dean

Reflecting and Dwelling in the Word

Prayer of the Day

Holy and righteous God,

you are the author of life, and you adopt us to be your children.

Fill us with your words of life,

that we may live as witnesses to the resurrection of your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever. Amen

Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48b

In this account of an appearance after his resurrection, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand him as Messiah. Jesus convinces them that he has been raised and sends them on a mission to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness.

36b "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.

⁴⁴Then 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." ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

Reflection

Jesus brings them PEACE! They are amazed, terrified (well wouldn't you have had the same reaction?) After all, you didn't go to the Cross. You were in hiding for fear you might be the next to be crucified. And that stuff about "rising on the third day" well, that was just nonsense! The dead do not come back to life and they think he is a ghost! Well, at least like Caspar (if you are old enough to remember that cartoon) he was friendly!Jesus is hungry! Like good Lutherans, they can take care of that! They were having a potluck - some fish was left, so they gave him a piece of broiled fish. I like Eugene Peterson's way of putting it: "They gave him a piece of leftover fish." For a piece of fish, Jesus dispels their fears, responds in "peace" to their doubts and retells his life story as he "opened their minds to understand the scriptures. . ."!

And then, he tells them and us, "You are witnesses of these things. . ."! No condemnation. No questioning of why weren't you there! No judgment about lack faith, fear, betrayal, doubt, or hopeless. Jesus simply retells the story of scripture and tells us: YOU ARE MY WITNESSES !!!

CHRIST IS RISEN! CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!

The Rev. Dr. Casey Baggott (UCC) writes in a sermon entitled "Parked Beliefs":

"Once Nouwen recalls asking a trapeze artist about flying through the air. He responded, "As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. . .He has to be there for me with split second precision and grab me out of the air. . .The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms that his catcher will be there for him."

Isn't that what Easter is all about? Isn't that what God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is all about? God in Christ catches us! Holds us! Carries us through doubts, fears, failures, illnesses, addictions and, yes, even death. Jesus is there holding us - never allowing us to walk alone. All we have to do is reach out to Jesus's outstretched arms and Jesus WILL be there to catch us.

ELW 768:

Lead me, guide me along the way;

for if you lead me, I cannot stray.

Lord, let me walk each day with thee.

Lead me, O Lord, lead me.

Easter is Jesus reaching out to catch us and send us out as witnesses! May we reach out, allowing Jesus to catch us and go forth to tell God's Story - With Our Voices.

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