Debbie
Cato
Luke
24:36 - 48
Peace
Presbyterian Church
Third
Sunday of Easter
April
19, 2015
From
Locked Doors to Opened Minds
On
this 3rd Sunday of Easter, it’s time for us to reflect on the
meaning of the resurrection for ourselves. What does it mean for you
that Christ was crucified, died, and three days later rose from the
dead? The truth of the resurrection has life-changing - life
giving implications. You see, we cannot just celebrate the
resurrection – we must be transformed by the resurrection. The
fact that Jesus rose from the dead must change us.
Easter
Sunday, we read in John’s Gospel how Mary Magdalene’s arrival at
Jesus’ empty tomb that first Easter morning transformed her weeping
and fear into indescribable joy when she met the resurrected Christ.
We learned that it was in the utterance of her name – Mary – that
opened her eyes so that she was able to recognize Jesus. We felt her
joy; her excitement as she rushed to the disciples, telling them, “I
have seen the Lord! I have seen the Lord!”
But
the disciples didn’t believe her when Mary gave them the news.
Maybe they thought she was an hysterical woman, so distraught that
she imagined seeing Jesus. Maybe it was just too hard to believe
someone else’s testimony that Jesus was alive. Regardless of the
reason, the disciples did not believe.
We
find the disciples locked in a room because they are afraid. They are
afraid because their rabbi, their teacher, their friend, their Lord
is dead. I imagine the air was sucked right out of them. They gave
up everything to follow
Jesus. How could this happen?
Last
week we talked about the conflicting emotions the disciples faced.
Anger at leaving everything to follow Jesus and have it end like
this. Deep grief at the death of their teacher, their friend.
Afraid that the authorities will come after them. They are followers
of Jesus and he was crucified. What will happen to them? Perhaps
they were even fearful of being mocked and scorned by all those who
said, “Some Messiah! Where’s your Lord and Savior now?”
Imagine trying to process everything they had experienced. I don’t
blame them for locking their doors! I don’t blame them for being
scared. The last three days of the disciples’ lives has been the
pits. The disciples were more than just afraid! A better
translation of the Greek is that the disciples were paralyzed with
fright. PARALYZED WITH FEAR.
Have
you ever been “paralyzed with fear?” Paralyzed with a job loss?
Paralyzed with a diagnosis? Paralyzed from bad news? A dying loved
one? Loss of freedom? Most of us know what it means to be
paralyzed with fear.
It
is into this locked room that the disciples, paralyzed with fear are
hidden away. Their nerves are raw. The tension is thick. And, in
walks Jesus! Through locked doors! I doubt the disciples expected
to see him that day. It
doesn't matter that the disciples are behind locked doors, Jesus
will not be locked away from his people. A door cannot hold him
back. He rose from the dead after all! He shows them his wounds –
the holes from the nails that were hammered into his feet and hands.
He shows them the hole where the spear pierced his side. He
eats and drinks with them in order to convince
them that he’s not a ghost. He accommodates his disciples' fear
rather than condemning it. He is patient with their persistent doubt.
Luke's description is stunning ... and it rings true: "in their
joy they were disbelieving and still wondering..." Even those
who saw the resurrected Jesus had a hard time!
Jesus
opens up the Scriptures so that they could understand how what had
just happened fits into the larger story of God's salvation. Knowing
what they now know, the rest finally makes more sense. But it isn’t
enough for them to just understand. No. Jesus calls his disciples
-- then and now -- to be witnesses. That's right. I'd love to
soft-pedal it, but I just don't think there's any way to get around
it: we are called to be witnesses to what God has done -- and is
still doing -- for us and all the world in and through Christ.
Here's
something that is particularly amazing about Luke's description of
this scene: even though the disciples experience faith as this
mixture of joy and doubt and wonder -- they are still called to be
witnesses. Jesus did not expect perfect faith. He did not expect
unwavering faith. Jesus called the disciples to go out and be
witnesses in spite of their doubts. If that's true for them,
friends, then it's the same for us. Part of being "resurrection
people" is being witnesses.1
Even
though our faith is imperfect; even though our faith wavers. I don't
know – maybe the fact that our faith is imperfect, makes us better
witnesses.
We
can witness to others that in spite of difficult circumstances, we
feel the presence
of Christ with us. We can witness that when we are paralyzed with
fear, we somehow feel the peace of Christ surround us. We can tell
others that we wouldn't make it through, if Christ was not holding us
up when we didn't have the strength to go it alone.
Just
like the disciples, we too have fears. We too have doubts. We all
have them and we hide behind locked doors thinking we are keeping our
fears at bay; keeping ourselves safe. Instead, we
are prisoners; held captive by our fears.
Sometimes,
I see us doing that as a church. We are afraid of change; afraid of
being uncomfortable; afraid of doing something different; something
new; something unfamiliar. We are afraid of losing control. And so
we stay locked behind the closed doors of the church in fear of our
survival.
We
stay the same. And as a result, we grow older and smaller. We
continue to bury our beloved members. We continue to watch as more
and more of us become home bound, unable to attend. We continue to
do things that make us
feel good. We spend money to take care of our building which remains
in pristine condition. And when everyone dies and the building
remains empty, it will be beautiful. But it will be empty.
God
is bringing opportunities to us to be involved in our neighborhood in
new and exciting ways; to witness the love and hope of the gospel.
He’s inviting us to unlock the doors and take risks. Risks that
might result in growth and life for His church. Risks that will give
us an opportunity to be good stewards of this building He has
provided us with. Ministry is messy; we'll
make mistakes; we'll fail at some things. But we will grow in faith
and grow in knowledge as we are faithful to Jesus' call to be
witnesses.
The
power of the resurrection is the power to plant the seeds of
transformation. The hope of the resurrection is grounded in the
experience of those first followers. Closed minds can be opened.
The potential is for a release in a prophetic way.
Think
about it. Jesus suddenly appears in the midst of his early
followers. Locked behind closed doors in fear for their survival. He
brought change to their lives as they moved from
Fright
and alarm to
Joy
mixed with disbelief and puzzlement to
Open
and understanding minds and hearts.
Opening
their minds and hearts began a shift in the core of their being.
This shift led them to take great risks; witnessing to the risen
Christ. Jesus did not bring them security. Rather, they risked
everything in order to follow his call.
Those
first followers came to understand that Jesus had conquered the
ultimate threat, death itself, and their fears were groundless.2
Jesus’ words “Peace be with you!” came to fruition in their
hearts and as a result, they were willing to risk everything to be
witnesses, to pass on the good news as resurrection people to future
generations.
Jesus’
words, “Peace be with you!” are spoken to us. And like those
first followers
so many years ago, even though we may not completely believe or at
least experience total faith; even though we may have a mixture of
joy and doubt and wonder and fear-- we are still called to be
witnesses. Through Christ, we are resurrection people to future
generations.
How
will being resurrection people transform us and our community and our
future? Please be praying about what this means for you individually and
for us as a church. Ask yourself the question: Am I willing to risk everything
to live out my transformed faith?
May
the Peace of Christ Be With You. Amen.
2
Feasting on the Word: Year B,
Volume 2. Nancy R. Blakely. Page 428.
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