Sermons for the Month
The New Dimension That is Opening
DATE: May 4th, 2003
SERVICE: Third Sunday of Easter
TEXT: Luke 24:36-48“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
It's still Sunday - the day of the resurrection - in the Gospel of Luke. And, it's an entirely new dimension for the followers of Jesus who are growing in discipleship as every minute passes. Jesus not only is alive, but they keep encountering him on this spectacular Sunday. It is indeed a whole new dimension. The Gospel reading that we just shared is preceded by the beautiful Emmaus road story. Two of Jesus' followers are going to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and on the way they are discussing how, earlier that morning, some women disciples told a wild tale about encountering heavenly beings at the tomb of their master Jesus. They actually said that Jesus, who they had last seen beaten and bleeding and dead, had risen from the dead! What in the world is this all about? As they attempt the answer that question a stranger joined them, opened their minds to the meaning of the events they had experienced, and then cleared their vision so that they recognized him as none other than the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. So, they walk back to Jerusalem, locate the followers of Jesus, and report their encounter with Jesus. That's where today's lesson picks up. While they are describing what happened on the Emmaus road Jesus appears and offers them a word of peace. Now, you would think that - given the reports of the women, of Peter, and now of the Emmaus road travelers they would be prepared for the appearance of Jesus. One would suppose that words of rejoicing would have immediately come from their lips. But, that's not the case. They think they are seeing a ghost, a disembodied spirit and they are terrified. Not just anxious, not just afraid, but absolutely terrified of their Lord and Savior who is standing before them. This may seem odd to us, but remember that folks of the first century have been influenced by the Greeks who taught that there was a physical world and a spiritual world, and never shall the two mix. In death, the Greeks taught, the good spirit separates from the bad body and continued to live on its own. The very idea of resurrection - of a new body that can be touched and that can digest food - is foreign to them. This is a whole new dimension. So, Jesus calms them. He shows them his wounds and he invites them to touch him. Can you imagine that scene? They tentatively reach out a hand and feel not air but flesh and bone. Then, when their joy is beginning to build but they are still disbelieving, Jesus eats in their presence. This risen Lord is not some disembodied spirit, he's real, though different from his pre-resurrected form since he enters rooms without regard for locked doors and makes appearances from out of no where. Jesus is resurrected from the dead and he gently leads his followers into this new dimension, opening their minds to understand scripture, and affirming their role as witnesses of it all. Their job is to proclaim the good news of this resurrected Lord who is not some ghostly presence. Just think how, in one day, they grew in discipleship as they recognized Jesus, acknowledged him as the "real deal", studied scripture and then were told what their purpose would be from this point on. They are witnesses. Their lives, their way of understanding the world, their view of death was transformed; it is indeed a new dimension as that first Easter Sunday ends. On this Sunday, nearly 2000 years later, we too enter a New Dimension, but our purpose remains unchanged from that of those first followers of Jesus. I was recently at a meeting during which I overheard someone - a congregation member - saying that when people walk in the church they should meet Jesus. She was lamenting the fact that although her congregation had much to offer in terms of facilities, music programs, worship variety, children's and youth ministries - all things that attract people to that setting - they may come and go without ever seeing Jesus. I thought her observation was breathtakingly honest, and view it as a measuring stick for us. Whatever we do - whether it be in the area of Christian education, youth ministry, worship services, music ministry, outreach - people should see the Risen Lord, the "real deal", Jesus. If, instead, they see an individual, or a group, or a program or a nice thing to do, then we have failed in our purpose - which is to be witnesses. One of the reasons the New Dimensions: Growing In Discipleship program - which you are being asked to support financially today - is so important is that it opens up opportunities for people to see Jesus and respond in ways that will help other people see him too. When we hire a Minister of Christian Growth and Discipleship, and as small groups are developed, the goal will be to recreate in people's lives what occurred on that first Easter evening. We want to provide opportunities where all of us, and those we invite to join us, can focus on our Risen Lord, where through the study of scripture and interaction with fellow Christians we can come to know him as a real savior, not some disembodied spirit. Then, we will enter a new dimension as Christian witnesses who have a deepened faith and have been given support and guidance concerning how to best use our spiritual gifts to help others see Jesus. We will more and more be those who open up new dimensions for the world. It is indeed a grand vision. It is perhaps too grand? Maybe it helps to remember those first followers who shortly after trembling with fear at the sight of what they thought was a ghost, are told that they will proclaim the Good News in Jesus' name to all nations. Now that must have been just a bit overwhelming, and yet here we are today continuing what they began. That's because, like them, we do not do it alone. While the Risen Lord is now the Ascended Lord - and we do not have the opportunity to touch him and watch him eat as they did - the same Holy Spirit that empowered our ancestors in the faith empowers us. This week I read a quote from Andrew Blackwood that said, "There is not a single pessimistic note anywhere in the New Testament after the resurrection." I thought about that. At first it seemed untrue, but then I realized that although the first Christians faced many trials, and although the early church is fraught with conflict, the overriding message is an optimistic one. If Jesus Christ can be raised from the dead in bodily form and if bodily resurrection will one day happen of us as well, then why would we doubt God's ability and desire to turn us into witnesses? We must be intentional, though, about creating the time and the place for that to happen. Let us walk forward then, empowered by the Spirit, into the New Dimension that is opening up before us. AMEN