On the Way to Wonder

Tomorrow, Sunday, we will look at the theme of the Good Shepherd.  King David wrote Psalm 23 and it is included in the Psalm reading from the Old Testament tomorrow.  The Psalm has been held up and memorized by many as an image that can be grasped when thinking about God, his leading and guidance, his presence through the valley of the shadow of death, and the reward where a banquet is prepared.  David believed goodness and love would follow him all the days of his life as he dwelt in the house of the Lord.  

Our Gospel reading from John centers on Jesus’ claim that he is the Good Shepherd.  We will ponder the reality of the presence of a resurrected Jesus that was confirmed in the presence of how we experience our relationship with Jesus today, our ability to have voice with him and the power we receive power  in tough times.

As you listen to the song by Marty Hagen based on Psalm 23 and read the psalm, may you be blessed.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;[a]
3  he restores my soul.[b]
He leads me in right paths[c]
    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
    I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff—
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

I have twin boys.  When they were young, perhaps three or four, we took them to the beach off Kenya and had fun putting them in an inner tube, one dangling from each side, and pushing them on the waves.  The waves rolled in after perhaps a quarter mile of coral reef.  By the time they reached the shore they were maybe six inches high.  They were nothing compared to the breakers further out nor like the waves at the beach in Los Angeles.  One time I gave the inner tube a push to let it coast to the shore.  To my horror the tube tipped over and we saw four legs flailing in the air.  When we rescued them, the docile twin was wailing at my negligence.  His brother jumped up and yelled, “Wow, that was fun.  Let’s do it again.”  Two brothers born 20 minutes apart, raised by the same parents, in the same inner tube in the same ocean had perhaps the same experience but two different reactions because they were two different people with two different perspectives on “adventure.”  During Easter we look at different people and their response to the resurrection of that Sunday morning.  We are familiar with the idea but they were not.

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb, deep in grief, pondering what she has just seen.  She withdraws into herself.  In the afternoon we see two people walking to Emmaus and deep in conversation trying to understand the event.  In the evening we see many of the followers gathered together behind locked doors in fear at the unfolding.  None so far truly understand.  Resurrected Jesus steps into each reality and meets people personally. 

Meanwhile Thomas has not been in these encounters and refuses to believe unless he touches the wounds to know that it is. Indeed the same person he saw crucified.  The scars are the proof that it is not a vision.  Some days we are just like Thomas.  Our vision is clouded with doubts and we cannot be comforted by other’s tales of transformation and maybe reading Scripture feels like an algebra problem to decode.

On those down days, what is the focus of faith?  I confess that it is easy for me to bemoan my lack of faith and turn my eyes inward to my limitations.  One of the beauties of this encounter is that inspite of Thomas’ weakness and doubts, Jesus again appears and invites Thomas to touch and feel him, “stop doubting and believe.”  Jesus changes Thomas’ focus of attention from self and his doubts to look at Jesus.  Faith is not something we measure like sugar.  The question is not the amount of my faith but the object of my faith.  When I focus on self, my weaknesses become glaringly apparent but when I focus on Jesus and his ability to walk through death for love of me, my perspective changes.  I do not understand. I cannot comprehend.  How can it be?  That God, in Christ, would reach out to a doubter like me and ask me to touch and know that Christ is real. I suppose that is why it is called faith.

So where are we looking today?  Is the cup half full or half empty?  Are we looking at the half full version of the news that sees Jesus missing or do we look at the half empty version that anticipates a God we cannot see but we know is acting.  Jesus is willing to go through locked doors to answer our doubts. Let us look to him, touch and feel.  And may we, with Thomas, say, “My Lord, and my God.”  John 20:28.

One of the people in the Bible close to my heart is the Apostle Thomas.  He is often referred to as “doubting Thomas” because he was not with the other followers behind locked doors that first Easter evening when Jesus suddenly apppeared.  He said he would not believe Jesus had resurrected unless he saw Jesus himself.

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’  John 20:24-25

The following Sunday Jesus appeared again and Thomas was present.  Jesus invited him to touch and believe.  Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God!”  Church history has it that Thomas went on to be a missionary to India where he was martyred at age 90.  I met an Indian man from that area who claimed the story was true.

Thomas is highlighted in two other passages.  When Jesus delays to go to Lazarus who was sick and who had indeed died, Thomas encouraged the others to go with Jesus when he finally decided to go so that Jesus would not have to die alone.  Sounds brave.  Thomas also is the disciple who questioned Jesus in John 14 when Jesus is encouraging his followers on their way to Gethsemane and eventually the cross.  Jesus said he was going to prepare a place and they could follow.  Thomas speaks us and questions Jesus who gives his famous reply, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  Perhaps Thomas was not so much a doubter as a realist.  Trust is hard when we cannot see nor understand what the other is talking about. 

I find it easy to be synical.  Politicians say all sorts of stuff and news reports vary with the expert they are interviewing.  Dates who swore love left when someone else came along.  A doctor might say he got it all but then the cancer returns.  And there is the wayward child whom you love so much or the spouse who was suppose to help you die, passes first.  Life is full of reversals. I don’t blame Thomas for wanting to see for himself. 

Perhaps the focus is not that Thomas doubts but the remarkable fact that Jesus returned and was not put off by Thomas’ doubt.  God’s persistence in the face of disbelief and betrayal and dissection is a truth worth recording in Scripture.  Friends who are faithful in our distress are wonderful gifts. I pray I can be a friend like Thomas who engages with me when the person does not understand.  Perhaps today you are doubting.  It is during those times that Jesus invites us to touch and feel and know that he is real, walks with us and cares. We can take our doubts to God in prayer.

The story is not over!  

Easter season looks at how we know Jesus truly rose from the grave, conquered death, paid our sins and did all that Christianity claims.  What does it all mean?  This week we are looking at Easter evening when the disciples are behind locked doors, probably scared because the rumor is spreading that they stole the body and faked the resurrection.  It is a plausible explanation though a bit far fetched.  But then resurrection is also an idea hard to grasp.  It doesn’t happen every day.

  As the followers are gathered together sharing what each has heard and experienced, Jesus appeared before them.  Star Trek fans might think Scotty said, “Zoomed him down.”  The followers and Halloween enthusiasts might think, “Yikes, a ghost.  Good costume dude!”  We have heard the story so perhaps we are a bit faded by all the hype.  It does raise the question of how do we tell the difference between a spiritual vision and a psychological hallucination?

37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 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.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Luke 24: 37-40

“Touch me and see.”  It appears the mind is confused by what the body is experiencing and Jesus immediately links mind and body senses together inviting sight to unite with touch.  Ghosts have no bones so the test at the time on whether something is natural or supernatural was touch.  Of course today we usually cannot “touch” Jesus with our hands and yet we have spiritual experiences that we need to test and make sure are real.  Several guidelines can be offered.  

Supernatural encounters will not lead us to contradict the written Word of God that can be touched.  Voices encouraging hate, harm or evil do not originate from God.  James 3:17 further encourages, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  Human wisdom that comes from bitter envy or selfish ambition is often accompanied by disorder and “every evil practice.”  A rule of thumb I use is that if something is true, it will be consistent advice throughout scripture and from several friends.  Learning to be led by the Spirit requires spiritual growth.  Speaking to an older, wiser person sometimes helps clarify our thinking.  Seldom is the urgent necessary but if the thought is persistent, reinforced by advisors and consistent with scripture, and we are at peace, then a spiritual adventure may be unfolding.  

Jesus does stand among us and does speak to our human senses today but often we just don’t realize it.  Other times we think we saw a ghost, a fluke experience that confuses.  I joke that I wish God would send me a fax but I know that he has given me his Word, my friends and a multitude of other avenues through which I experience his love and wishes today.  Often I want my answers right now, now, now and I must be patient as God works on the big picture.  I often pray, “Open my eyes Lord that I might see”.  Please enjoy this song for a moment.  ihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Kxsr6Xcrc    

36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.”  Luke 24: 36

How is the world going to deal with the Israel – Iran conflict right now?  Will we be pulled into war or will it blow over … again. For those of us with children, grandchildren, friends, relatives of friends, this is not an academic question.  I have friends with theories on “end times” and they are preparing also.  Then there are probably many who are wrapped up in the issues of their own lives.  I suspect Easter morning was much like this.  Some were quite involved in the discussion of the missing body of Jesus.  The followers were meeting behind locked doors, scared, as they were being accused of being thieves.  Cleopas and friend who had just encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus had rushed back to tell the others in Jerusalem.  In the midst of the threats from without, the confusion within, and the exhaustion of the weekend, Jesus appears and stands among them.  That is a conversation stopper for sure!

Jesus first word was, “Peace.”  Jesus did not choose to deal with the confusion outside among the people.  He could have.  He could have appeared in public in the Temple as he had so many times  and told the whole religious hierarchy to chill.  He could have ended the confusion right there.  CNN would have loved to have been on the spot.  The pundits could be interviewed for weeks probably.  But Jesus did not deal with the anxiety, the questions, the doubts with a big public splash that took the pressure off the followers.  He appeared personally in a locked room with his little band of followers and dealt with them personally.

The peace that Jesus was talking about was different.  It seems he does not deal with “issues” by removing the issue but by assuring us of his presence and that he, not the removal of stress, is the solution.  We find real peace in our relationship with a risen Lord.

So perhaps on a piece of paper this morning we might jot down in two columns – outside issues I pray for peace and in the other column the internal anxieties I need to bring to God today.

Actually he is interested in both and working in both spheres of our lives.  We can relax and leave our concerns in his nail pierced hands.  Take a deep breath and pray!

Mark is building his case that Jesus resurrected.  After the crucifixion, the tomb was found empty on Easter morning but there was no body.  Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?  We first looked at the report by Mary Magdalene on Easter morning reporting that she had encountered the risen Jesus.  Matthew tells us that while the women are finding the tomb empty, the guards are reporting the event and are paid to spread the story that the body was stolen by the followers.  The followers do not believe the women and send Peter and John who confirm the tomb is empty.  Next Mark reports that on Easter afternoon that Cleopas and friend encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  We looked at that story last week. But they were not believed also.  Then the Mark postscript tells of a third testimony. 

 Mark 16:14, “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” 

 For more details about this evening gathering, we turn to Luke 24. It is Easter evening and the followers are gathered behind locked doors.  Rumors are flying around town.  The followers are being accused of stealing the body and spreading lies.  The followers are grieving, are scared and don’t understand resurrection.  Their whole concept of God, of the Messiah, of faith is being shaken to the core of their being.  We are watching a major transformation in how people understand the religion that explains reality.

Rumors, news and truth – how do we tell the difference? When stories conflict and accusations fly, fear and suspicion grip our hearts.  Everyone is trying to understand, “Who Took the Cookie in the Cookie Jar”?  We snapped our fingers and said “Not me” with one hand and named another with the snap of the other hand. We don’t  want to call anyone a liar and so we concede that there must be an element of truth in the report.  Witnesses in a trial are cross-examined to not only know if they are credible but also if they are qualified to speak as an authority.  We are just as skeptical today as people were at the time of the disciples.  Easter season gives us space to digest just how we understand and assimilate truth about the resurrection.

What helps you believe that someone is telling you the truth?  One of the qualities I look for is trustworthiness.  Is the person known to be someone who tells the truth?  I might also ask if the person has a vested interest and if there is a hidden motive in telling the story.  Perhaps I might look for consistency.  Are the basic elements of the story the same as the story reported by others. I listen as the report unravels and as the person remembers more and more about what happened?  Figuring out truth is not easy and in our culture today where so many people are “experts” of different kinds, it is possible to be confused and fearful.  Perhaps a lesson here is to ask myself if I am a reliable witness and friend as I tell my stories.  Am I believable?

Into this midst of confusion and fear, Mark will report that Jesus steps into the followers three dimensionally.  He is seen, heard, and touched.  God wants us to be sure of his resurrection and presence in our lives.  He reaches out to us.  Thank you, Lord.

Let us break bread together on our knees | Lyrics

This week we looked at the encounter between the risen Jesus and two travelers on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas and friend.  Names would indicate the people were not Israelites, possibly Roman, heading away from the stir of events in Jerusalem with the crucifixion and missing body of Jesus.  A resurrection?  But where is he?  Jesus joins them unrecognized, joins their conversation, and then opens Scripture to them.  They are so impressed they invite him to spend the night and commune with them.  As Jesus blesses the bread, they recognize him.

One of the most popular communion songs that comes from African American spirituals is Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees.  Often communion is associated with kneeling at the altar rail on our knees.  There are several versions arising from the Gullah/Geechee cultural Heritage area along the East coast between Jacksonville, FL and Willmington, NC.  “Oh Lord have mercy on me,” is the Kyrie Eleison, the plea for mercy that comes with our prayers.  I am also including a link to Joan Baez sharing how she sang it during Civil Rights.  It seems appropriate for our day too!

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  Luke 24: 18-31

     The Internet defines communion as “the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.”  The two travelers we have been following this week, Cleopas and friend, have left Jerusalem “after all this,” after all the rumors circulating on Easter morning about the empty tomb, after the crucifixion and after the resurrection.  They are walking to Emmaus about seven miles away and are deep in discussion when a stranger joins them and joins their conversation.  He asks, “What’s up?” What are they are talking about?  They share about the events of the weekend and he “opens Scripture” pointing out that it was all a fulfillment of prophecy.  I would have loved to listen in on that conversation.  I’m guessing this was not a chit chat about weather or politics but the conversation delved into their personal thoughts and dreams that perhaps Jesus was the promised Messiah and the woes of being an occupied country.  The two people were deeply moved for they invited Jesus to stay with them.  They offered Jesus food and he “broke bread” and blessed it and their eyes were open.  And they “recognized” Jesus.

Holy moments involve a sharing of our lives in fellowship but then there is that “communion” when the talk becomes something more than an exchange of words but becomes an exchange of hearts when we explore the reality of what is going on inside ourselves.  Christians celebrate communion, a sacrament or a ritual, that involves depending on your tradition, a confession of sins, forgiveness, breaking of bread that reminds us that God is building our lives, and a drinking of wine or juice that reminds us that God is as close to us as our blood flowing through our veins and giving us life.

     The ritual may seem routine to many even as our fellowship is often superficial and time filling.  But then there are the times when we open our heart and we not only fellowship with God but we also commune.  We hear the words that we are forgiven, that we are God’s child and that we can face the coming week because he goes with us.  At the end of the service, the pastor raises his hands and says, “Go in peace.”

Like Cleopas and friend our eyes are opened and we recognize that the risen Christ has been with us.

We encounter the risen Lord in personal moments like with Mary Magdalene.  We encounter the risen Lord in the explanation of Scriptures that put our lives into perspective.  We encounter the risen Lord in the sacraments that walk us through the events of our lives and remind us we are a child of God.  May you be blessed as meet him on your journey this week.

17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”  Luke 24:17 -37

The Swahili greeting in Kenya is “Habari?” That translates to “News?”  The required response is, “Mzuri,” Good.  You always respond “good” because God is working so all news is good.  The next line is “lakini…”, but….  Life is good because God is good but my cow died or my child is sick.  Jesus comes alongside two people, Cleopas and friend, walking away from Jerusalem on Easter afternoon and they don’t recognize him.  He establishes conversation with an opener similar to our “What’s up?”  He allows them to establish the topic of conversation.  Again, God comes to them on their turf, stepping into their questions.

What’s up could have a double meaning.  It can mean to draw out the other about events of their life but it can also be pointing the talkers to a broader perspective on reality.  What’s up is that prophecy is being fulfilled even if it is not the way the two people thought.  Cleopas and friend pour out the lament of what they know about the events in Jerusalem.  It sounds like they themselves heard the reports of the women who went to the tomb and of the disciples who went also and confirmed the body of Jesus was missing.  “What’s up?” Is their question.

25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  Mark 24:25-27

Jesus now gives them an eternal perspective.  He does not just show them his hands and side.  He takes them to the same Scripture we turn to when we have questions about the events of our lives. All that happened was prophesized from the time of Moses, their hero. Jesus is asking them questions, not to trick them into showing their ignorance but to drawn them out so he could inform them, give the historical perspective and context.

I must confess that like Cleopas and friend, I get involved in the events of my everyday life.  I need to step back and allow the Spirit to speak to me, give me perspective and context.  We live in a fallen world where good guys get hurt, people die, and the happy ending will not be seen in our life time.  But we also live in a world with sunrises and sunsets, with friends that love us with our warts and wrinkles, and we live with the written Word we can always turn to in times when we are confused.  I love to read Psalm 121, “I look to the hills from where does my help come, it comes from the Lord,” when I am down.  Psalm 51 helps me confess when I feel I have blown it.  Many love Psalm 139 that talks about God knowing and understanding us.  Blessing as you encounter a God today who wants to know, “What’s up?”

 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;16 but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:15-16

Cleopas and friend are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, discussing the events that had just taken place over the weekend in Jerusalem.  It was bigger than March Madness and bigger than a solar eclipse.  We have become numb to the news about which politician has done what. Back then, though, there had been a public execution of a popular hero, Jesus.  He had died and was placed in a tomb but three days later the tomb was found open and there was no body. So these two people were deep in discussion.  The guards claimed the followers of Jesus had somehow overpowered trained soldiers and stolen the body.  The guards had not been executed as was the custom when guards failed their duty.  Some people claimed they had seen Jesus resurrected.  Our two people were walking along and were discussing   when a fellow traveler joined them.  They did not recognize the traveler. 

        Mark says that Jesus appeared in a “different form.”  He must not have had the nail prints in his hands nor the sword hole in his side.  I’m guessing his face was not scared by the crown of thorns.  Those tell tale symbols that we put in our paintings and sculptures of the risen Christ must not have been there.  Jesus is no longer bound by our rules of reality.  And yet he can step into reality and can speak with the travelers and join their discussion.  This is not the emotional encounter of Mary Magdalene but Jesus meets them on a walk, in the middle of a discussion.

I would suspect that we too often do not recognize Jesus as he comes along side us because we expect him to look a certain way or we expect ourselves to feel a certain way.  I hear it explained by someone who happens to be reading the Scripture and a “verse jumps out.”  Sometimes he speaks through the voice of a friend.  I was clearing off my husband’s desk and found a poem he had written before he died, summarizing his life and his experience of God’s presence in his life.  I cried and felt the “It’s OK” of God speaking to me.  In the “discussions” on the road of life as we travel from one place to another, we discover that Jesus is risen and speaking to us.  Blessings as you become aware of him traveling with you.