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Acts 4:5-12, I John 1:1-2:2, Luke 24:36b-48
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev. W. Lee Shaw
This has been a week of mourning and grief for the families of two members of our parish who have died. Yesterday we celebrated the life of Jodi Gregston in a memorial service here at the church. Jodi had been ill for some time and had not been to St. Stephen's since before I came here, although she had had a special relationship with Diana Johnson.
Earlier in the week Jack Fish, husband of Mary Anne Fish, died. The family has requested no public services, so we will remember Jack in our prayers this morning and in the Eucharistic Prayer as well. During the past several weeks as I met with them together and individually one piece came across so strongly: they have no regrets of any part of their life together. What a gift it is to be able to say that after nearly 60 years of marriage. Jack will be missed in this community.
On Friday, I was invited to preach at the funeral of a 4 yr. old boy who had died accidentally. With Jodi and with Jack there was the length of years and accomplishments of a lifetime to celebrate in their memories. But with this young boy, there was the shortness and chances of life that were remembered with deep emotion. This was a week with much grief to bear.
It was through the lens of these three deaths that I read the Gospel reading today of Luke's account of Jesus' appearing to the disciples. We read how the disciples were afraid, confused, startled and unsure as Jesus comes to them. As I read this Gospel, I wondered how Jesus is made known to us in our fear, confusion, unsettledness and uncertainty. How do we hear Jesus greet us as he greeted the disciples: “Peace be with you.” Shalom.
Peace be with you. This is the offering of Jesus to us in our own times of fear, confusion, unsettledness and uncertainty. The peace of Christ is what the church has to offer to all God's children, those who mourn as well as those who have cause to rejoice as well as those who just are.
Even so, for many people, as for those disciples, Jesus may seem like a kind of ghost, a memory of a time long ago wrapped in myth and legend. Yes revered, worshipped, recorded in art and literature, but still a distant, remote personage. This is when we need to hear his words to, “Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones?”
The church is the body of Christ in the world today. We are the hands of Christ, oftentimes wounded/broken, but still called to serve and be real in the world. The church is the representation of the Christ in the world. We are the flesh and bone of the resurrection today and we are called to serve others in his name. We are the ones to say, “Peace be with you.”
Luke notes that they gave Jesus a “piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.” This speaks to me of the sacraments as a key part of our understanding of church and the Body of Christ. Everyday objects and everyday actions take on new and deeper significance as they point us to a spirituality and reality of God?s presence in the world; the outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace. We are the ones called to show and to be the sacramental signs of God?s peace in the world.
“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” The church is grounded in our faith story recorded in Scripture. It is a faith story not static and locked in place, but one that continually reveals to us the nature of God in new and stunning ways. It opens to us new ways of understanding and recognizing God in our midst. We are the ones to be open to God?s ongoing revelation in Scripture.
Finally, “you are witnesses of these things.” The disciples were called to be special witnesses of the resurrection to the world. Through our baptism we are called to be disciples, special witnesses of the resurrection to the world. Two weeks ago at Easter we renewed our Baptismal Covenant to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.” We are called to show forth the Good News of the resurrection to the world: The Good News of forgiveness of sins and new life in Christ Jesus.
The words of Jesus to the disciples are the words of Jesus to us. There is no separation. “That is this. Then is now.” So, this weekend even as I grieved the loss of friends in this community and shared in the loss of a child with others, I sought to remember and convey the peace of Christ and his promise of eternal life given us in the Resurrection, as the “means of grace and the hope of glory.”
Finally, we have the peace promised us by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, the peace of God that only God can give. And we know when we have felt the Spirit rest comfortably and securely on our heart and on our mind.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.