Word to the Wise
Sunday, April 26, 2009 - Third Sunday of Easter
[Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2:1-5aq; Luke 24:35-48]"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 and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
How is it that we develop trust in a person, especially a trust that is steady and lasting, one that creates a profound friendship? To begin with, we need to meet that person and see that they are real and that we can "accept" them. There's an old expression about being careful when it comes to meeting your heroes! The disciples skeptical about the news of the resurrection. Is the "risen Christ" the same as Jesus of Nazareth? They knew the latter, but was this he standing before them! The gospel says they initially thought they were seeing a ghost!!!! The Risen Jesus was not a ghost. Nor was he a resuscitated corpse, like Lazarus who would have to die again! So, Jesus does a simple thing. He eats something - baked fish (good choice!). OK! The first step of trust is tentatively taken. But there's more to come. Much of the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke is about trust. The women at the tomb, the disciples on the road to Emmaus and the frightened group in Jerusalem have to come to terms with the death and resurrection of Jesus. All of them are challenged to read the Scriptures and see that everything that happened to Jesus was the result of God keeping a promise! I see this as the next important test of friendship. Does that person keep his or her word? Do they keep their promises? Or are they simply a very likeable individual who cannot be trusted to be there when they say they will be? The answer in the Gospel of Luke is that God is faithful, that Jesus can be trusted, that the Spirit is reliable! Fidelity, trust and reliability go a long way toward inspiring a frightened group to become fearless preachers. Do we truly believe that God is faithful, that Jesus can be trusted and that the Spirit will be with us always? How we answer those questions will tell us a lot about what we need to do from now on! AMEN
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