In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Encountering the risen Jesus
Almost 2 thousand years after the events Jesus' resurrection appearances are still very challenging and stretch our thinking so it is no wonder that we read in Luke's account that the disciples were terrified, they who were eyewitnesses and thought they were seeing a ghost not the risen Jesus present among them again. Holy Week is recent enough for us to recall the emotions of the journey to The Cross with Jesus. Of the disciples falling away, falling asleep, denying him - not standing by him. And here He is back with them after all that they had witnessed and the pain, sorrow and guilt they endured. These companions who had just heard about Jesus appearing to two of them on the road to Emmaus and making himself known in the breaking of the bread with them as they stood talking about all that had happened.
And here Jesus appears again. He doesn't come and stand in front of them and admonish them, no, He stands among and says 'Peace be with you' - the greeting that he had taught them previously to share with the households they visited.
Then he sets about reminding them, reassuring them of who he is with a very practical and loving gesture - humbly offering his hands and feet for examination - showing them that he is the same person they knew before - touch me and see, flesh and bones. See and believe.
Then his eating in their presence - reminding them of the table fellowship that they had enjoyed in times past. These gestures would be impossible for a ghost or figment of their imagination. Joyous, but too overwhelmed to believe, they still cannot quite believe it, they want to but....
The risen Jesus then becomes the key for unlocking the mystery - explaining everything - the significance of the scriptures, the prophecy predictions and the divine necessity for their fulfilment, necessary for the new community of Christians to establish and grow. God's promises - find their fulfilment in the risen Jesus.
Just as he 'opened' the eyes of the two disciples in the previous verses - in the Emmaus story, so he opens the scriptures to them in this one, opening their minds. He then spells out for them the work that lies ahead for them - their mission in the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Work that will take them out from Jerusalem to all nations.
These eyewitnesses were to become the ministers of the word - sharing the good news - spreading the gospel and the building of Christ's Body in the world - the Church which would be rooted in scripture and active in mission.
These promises were then witnessed by the crowds who had seen the healing of the crippled man we heard of in our first lesson today. This healing was evidence that the risen Jesus was not the end, a climax to God's deeds. No, the resurrection marked a beginning and pointed forward to the eventual return of Jesus, a return that was expected soon and one that we eagerly await.
The promises Jesus made almost two thousand years ago are just the same today. The resurrection and ascension events may stretch our imaginations - God's new redeemed world is a challenge and part of the mystery that we cannot fully understand but we have faith in - that 'substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen'.
And we are witnesses, not eyewitnesses as the disciples were, but witnesses all the same. Witnesses to the revelation of Jesus in similar ways to the ways that he revealed himself to the disciples - in the breaking of bread that we share each Eucharist when we are renewed in Christ. In the reading and studying of scripture - the prophecy predictions and their fulfilment. The encounters in the gospels where we meet Jesus and in the resurrection accounts. In our worship together and in our private times of prayer.
Day by day we encounter Jesus in the world we live in, we all have our own stories of witness, in our joys and in our sorrows. We also have our own experiences of the risen Jesus' permanent gift to His disciples - Peace. That special peace that the disciples knew, the peace that comes from being in relationship with God, when we say the words of the psalm 'I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety'. The peace of God that we will shortly share with each other.
Christians down the centuries have encountered the risen Jesus and followed the disciple's example of taking the 'good news' out into the world. Just as they were sent out to all nations on their mission to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins, so we this worshipping community of All Saints will be sent out after this Eucharist, sent out to carry on Jesus' work in the world, into a world that we recognise as not fully embracing God's reign - there is much work to be done. Katherine Jeffert Schori, the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States suggests that 'when we are baptised, we become missionaries, servants of the kingdom, builders of God's dream' and we have to alert, be ready for the opportunities that are all around us.
And there are opportunities and Bishop David is encouraging us all to embrace them in our Dioceses' new initiative that you may have read in our current All Saints Newsletter - the Diocesan Casting the Net: Growing Faith Communities programme which is to be launched at Pentecost. This initiative invites each charge to consider how it can reach out in mission within its own context. This community of faith here was established more than 100 years ago for that purpose within a fishing community and our congregational profile has evolved over that period of time to take account of changing circumstances.
As Father Jonathan indicated in the Newsletter further information about the programme and the launch will be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime though perhaps as we journey towards Pentecost we can consider the different ways in which we as a congregation and as individual disciples reach out to others, are lamps that lead others to encounter the risen Christ.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Sermon by: Christine Barclay