The Gospel of Luke 24:36b-48 Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled, terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then 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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
Let us Pray: Bring to us O God, the sense of your living presence as we go into this new week. Renew in us the faith you want us to have, the faith that is not afraid to reach out in your name and to share the treasure you have given us, that treasure which is greater than silver and gold. This we pray in the Name of the Resurrected Christ. Amen
The gift of Easter is knowing that the tomb is empty, Jesus has risen from the bonds of death. At some point we have to move from the event of the resurrection to experiencing the resurrection. Experiencing resurrected life begins with recognizing the risen Christ among us. Jesus’ first words to the disciples after his resurrection are, “Peace be with you.” Jesus gives them peace in the context of the turmoil, the fear, and the hostility that has been their experience during these days in Jerusalem. Jesus is also responding to their fear, to their uncertainty as to whether it is really him or whether it is a ghost. Jesus had appeared to Cleopas and his companion, and they are telling the other disciples how Jesus appeared to them on the road to Emmaus, now Jesus appears again he says: “Peace be with you,”. They see him, they hear his voice, but they do not recognize him. They “thought that they were seeing a ghost.” They know Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. They know the tomb is open, but their minds are closed. Where are we in this, we have been told the tomb is open and Jesus has risen from the dead but is our mind open to the concept of the Risen Jesus. The disciples are unable to recognize the holiness that stands among them. They are continuing to live, think, and understand in the usual human categories. They have separated spirit and matter, divinity and humanity, heaven, and earth. Whenever we make that separation we close our minds, we deny ourselves the resurrected life for which Christ died, and we lose our sense of and ability to recognize holiness in the world, in one another, and in ourselves.
Let us Pray: Today let our faith guide us and not let the doubts creep in. Guide us to follow in the way of your risen Son. To care for others not with just words but with acts of love, seeking to be more like your son Jesus. We offer you our prayers in the Name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 