The Presence of Christ
“The Presence of Christ”
Rev Carolyn Waters
April 30, 2006 CCUM
Luke 24:13-49
13Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But 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. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “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. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The week following Easter, the UCC church on 6th avenue had on it billboard in the front: “Easter! Wow! That was fun! Let’s do it again.”
I don’t think so!
I think once in a lifetime is enough for a crucifixion, and that’s what precedes Easter. Remembering Easter once a year, recalling to mind the promise and new beginnings of life….now that’s a good thing. Perhaps there would be some wisdom to “doing Easter again”. Certainly there is more to Easter than can be grasp in one Sunday, or one telling of the story.
We are, finally Easter People. People who live in the hope of new life, the forgiveness of sins, and the promise of resurrection.
But to say, WOW, that was fun!
The only time I experienced Easter as FUN was when I was a kid and got to hunt Easter eggs in the greening wheat fields of spring.
There were some parts about Easter Sunday this year, and past years that far exceed the typical Sunday in the life of the church. That a good thing, something to celebrate…………..but Fun?
“Gee…that was fun!” were not the thoughts running through the minds of the two people on the road to Emmaus.
Going back to their regular life, these two people were remembering and retelling their experiences of the past several days when a stranger started walking with them. Not an uncommon thing. In conversation the two realized the stranger didn’t seem to realize what had happened in Jerusalem with Jesus of Nazareth.
You know how the story goes. Jesus asks questions, they answer………..finally Jesus sheds light on the meaning of it all………..they listen………..they are intrigued………invite Jesus to their house for dinner…and while breaking bread and drinking wine………they realize the stranger in their midst is the Christ.
The story in Luke goes on to another setting with more of the Disciples, where once again Jesus shows up………….in his physical form, and is recognized by the Disciples. He challenges them to touch his side and hands in order to believe that it is him.
“Their eyes are opened” to the meaning of the scriptures, to the point and purpose of the resurrection.
I think that most of us today tend to think of Jesus in almost entirely spiritual terms. Nevertheless, in this scripture passage from Luke we cannot help but see him in physical terms, risen in flesh and blood, in hair and bone, brain cell and vocal cord. I have to admit that this part of the story is not what persuades me in my Christian faith to believe in the Christ. BUT today we find Jesus coming to reveal that his body, as every human body, is a place where God exists and reveals all that is holy. That part I can accept. That part makes sense to me.
If we believe that Jesus risen in his body means that our human bodies can carry the very existence of God and can hold the presence of God's spirit, then the resurrected life is a life we live in the presence of God as God is in our presence. As Jesus' body took on new life through God's power in the giving of the life of Jesus for the world, then through the offering of his body, now risen, we can come to see in our bodies the same possibilities for new life. AND even more important I think, there is the opportunity to witness the presence of God through the spirit of Christ, living in others.
The resurrection story says not only that Jesus rose from the dead, but also that his body could never again be taken away from his followers, could never again be taken away from the world.
How can this be true? It is true because the Body of Christ is us. The church is the continuation of Jesus. We are the Body of Christ. We are Christ's hands and feet, arms and legs, eyes and mouth, and Christ's check book. We are everything Jesus is in the Gospel, for we are his body. Or at least, that is who we are challenged to be.
In the last ten days I have had the opportunity to be in a car for two hours with George McGovern, watch Ann Lamott work a literary crowd at Tattered Cover, and sit in meditation for an afternoon with Fr. Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber.
All of these people embody the presence of Christ.
For me, all of these people are living icons that give an open window to the holy, the mystery of life.
I don’t always know what to do with “the rest of the Easter story!” You know, the parts that come after Easter. I don’t think it’s a simple, WOW that was fun!
I struggle with the meaning. I easily follow and believe in the teachings of Jesus as a sane, sound, and meaningful way to live my life. But what of this resurrection stuff?
Finally this resurrection stuff is only as meaningful as it is able to manifest its meaning in your life. The resurrection stuff is only as powerful as I am willing to open myself to God’s presence within me, showing forth as the spirit of Christ in my life.
And that only makes as much sense as you are able to see and observe, much the same way the two on the road to Emmaus were able to recognize Christ in the stranger that was with them.
The living icons of my world live in the presence of Christ, and the presence of Christ lives in them. It is proof for me of the resurrected life. It is meaning for me of the presence of God within.
The greatest wonder of all is that we need not be a famous politician, a famous writer, a living saint of a monk, or one of the world’s greatest philosophers to embody the resurrection.
The spiritual truth that comes from the story is that the Good News of Jesus Christ is not about who we are, but about who God is.
The point of the resurrection is not about what happened to the body of Jesus, but the point of the resurrection is about what the body of Jesus became for the sake of the world………………..an incarnation of forgiveness and love for anyone that is willing to receive the gift.
Rev Carolyn Waters
April 30, 2006 CCUM
Luke 24:13-49
13Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But 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. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “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. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The week following Easter, the UCC church on 6th avenue had on it billboard in the front: “Easter! Wow! That was fun! Let’s do it again.”
I don’t think so!
I think once in a lifetime is enough for a crucifixion, and that’s what precedes Easter. Remembering Easter once a year, recalling to mind the promise and new beginnings of life….now that’s a good thing. Perhaps there would be some wisdom to “doing Easter again”. Certainly there is more to Easter than can be grasp in one Sunday, or one telling of the story.
We are, finally Easter People. People who live in the hope of new life, the forgiveness of sins, and the promise of resurrection.
But to say, WOW, that was fun!
The only time I experienced Easter as FUN was when I was a kid and got to hunt Easter eggs in the greening wheat fields of spring.
There were some parts about Easter Sunday this year, and past years that far exceed the typical Sunday in the life of the church. That a good thing, something to celebrate…………..but Fun?
“Gee…that was fun!” were not the thoughts running through the minds of the two people on the road to Emmaus.
Going back to their regular life, these two people were remembering and retelling their experiences of the past several days when a stranger started walking with them. Not an uncommon thing. In conversation the two realized the stranger didn’t seem to realize what had happened in Jerusalem with Jesus of Nazareth.
You know how the story goes. Jesus asks questions, they answer………..finally Jesus sheds light on the meaning of it all………..they listen………..they are intrigued………invite Jesus to their house for dinner…and while breaking bread and drinking wine………they realize the stranger in their midst is the Christ.
The story in Luke goes on to another setting with more of the Disciples, where once again Jesus shows up………….in his physical form, and is recognized by the Disciples. He challenges them to touch his side and hands in order to believe that it is him.
“Their eyes are opened” to the meaning of the scriptures, to the point and purpose of the resurrection.
I think that most of us today tend to think of Jesus in almost entirely spiritual terms. Nevertheless, in this scripture passage from Luke we cannot help but see him in physical terms, risen in flesh and blood, in hair and bone, brain cell and vocal cord. I have to admit that this part of the story is not what persuades me in my Christian faith to believe in the Christ. BUT today we find Jesus coming to reveal that his body, as every human body, is a place where God exists and reveals all that is holy. That part I can accept. That part makes sense to me.
If we believe that Jesus risen in his body means that our human bodies can carry the very existence of God and can hold the presence of God's spirit, then the resurrected life is a life we live in the presence of God as God is in our presence. As Jesus' body took on new life through God's power in the giving of the life of Jesus for the world, then through the offering of his body, now risen, we can come to see in our bodies the same possibilities for new life. AND even more important I think, there is the opportunity to witness the presence of God through the spirit of Christ, living in others.
The resurrection story says not only that Jesus rose from the dead, but also that his body could never again be taken away from his followers, could never again be taken away from the world.
How can this be true? It is true because the Body of Christ is us. The church is the continuation of Jesus. We are the Body of Christ. We are Christ's hands and feet, arms and legs, eyes and mouth, and Christ's check book. We are everything Jesus is in the Gospel, for we are his body. Or at least, that is who we are challenged to be.
In the last ten days I have had the opportunity to be in a car for two hours with George McGovern, watch Ann Lamott work a literary crowd at Tattered Cover, and sit in meditation for an afternoon with Fr. Thomas Keating and Ken Wilber.
All of these people embody the presence of Christ.
For me, all of these people are living icons that give an open window to the holy, the mystery of life.
I don’t always know what to do with “the rest of the Easter story!” You know, the parts that come after Easter. I don’t think it’s a simple, WOW that was fun!
I struggle with the meaning. I easily follow and believe in the teachings of Jesus as a sane, sound, and meaningful way to live my life. But what of this resurrection stuff?
Finally this resurrection stuff is only as meaningful as it is able to manifest its meaning in your life. The resurrection stuff is only as powerful as I am willing to open myself to God’s presence within me, showing forth as the spirit of Christ in my life.
And that only makes as much sense as you are able to see and observe, much the same way the two on the road to Emmaus were able to recognize Christ in the stranger that was with them.
The living icons of my world live in the presence of Christ, and the presence of Christ lives in them. It is proof for me of the resurrected life. It is meaning for me of the presence of God within.
The greatest wonder of all is that we need not be a famous politician, a famous writer, a living saint of a monk, or one of the world’s greatest philosophers to embody the resurrection.
The spiritual truth that comes from the story is that the Good News of Jesus Christ is not about who we are, but about who God is.
The point of the resurrection is not about what happened to the body of Jesus, but the point of the resurrection is about what the body of Jesus became for the sake of the world………………..an incarnation of forgiveness and love for anyone that is willing to receive the gift.
posted by Rev Waters | 8:50 AM
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