There has been a great deal of information recently on the subject of co-joined siblings
and the medical breakthroughs that have recently enabled many of them to have separate lives. Despite the fact
that such children face immense challenges from birth, their parents too must deal with the physical hardships
of living with uniquely challenged children, but perhaps the greatest hardship to overcome is the insensitive comments
and stares of everyone around them. Yet the truly interesting thing in all of these articles and broadcasts is
that despite their very obvious physical differences, these children progress with the same hopes and expectations
common to all children. Handicaps, no matter what they are, must be learned. We are born optimistic and enthusiastic
about life…we learn pessimism and fear through the hardships we encounter.
Optimism and faith are our natural state, and more than likely the one we are meant to reclaim in our re-birthing
in Christ. If that is true, then taking chances, and risking with enthusiasm should be our first inclination as
those who live resurrected lives.
We are told in today's gospel lesson that following the horror of the crucifixion, and the amazing stories of promise
that followed it, Jesus himself appeared before the disciples. His words were filled with the promise of peace,
but they were "startled and terrified."
If you have ever watched a dog, especially a young one, encounter a turtle or small animal on the path you have
seen very clearly what this reaction is all about. The dog will generally approach with a great deal of interest
and enthusiasm, and then go through a series of leaping forward and back, making little barking sounds, but never
really making contact.
Basically saying without words that they are not too sure they want the very thing they have so desperately sought.
That's the same way Soren Kierkegaard defined "dread." He said it described those moments when we are
simultaneously attracted to and repelled by life. We want to move forward and yet we find ourselves frozen with
fear in our tracks.
Think of it as a trip to the ocean, one that you have long anticipated. You have planned and prepared, and driven
hours in heavy traffic to get there. You put on your suit and rush out to the edge of the water, and find the waves
are great! But just as you come to that big moment, when you want to plunge into the foamy brine, you think, "Gosh,
it's going to be cold," "there may be sharks," "what about the undertow?" And so, you
stand paralyzed on the shore simultaneously drawn to the water yet terrified of the hungry unknowns that roam beneath
the surface.
I would suggest that when Jesus gave compelling evidence of his living presence to the disciples, they felt something
on the order of "dread." They thought they were seeing a ghost, and so he offered them tangible proof.
"See my hands and feet." "Give me a piece of fish" and he ate it. Absolute proof in Luke's
day that this was indeed not just an apparition!
Yet despite such irrefutable evidence that he was in fact in their midst they felt joy, disbelief and wonder. Just
like that curious dog and the object on the road, they wanted desperately to see him and feared that they might.
They too were not sure they wanted the thing they so desperately sought, and I think we are sometimes just like
them.
Christ shows himself to us and we want to follow after him. The Word speaks deeply into our hearts and bids us
to move forward. Yet we stand paralyzed at the thought of the unknown that lies in wait on the other side of the
threshold.
To be sure, there is nothing wrong with counting the costs. And, there is nothing wrong with clarity. But at some
point you simply have to move. You have to advance with confidence. Otherwise you may find yourself resisting the
very thing your heart most ardently desires.
I think this is especially relevant for us as a congregation in light of the recent decision by our Church Council
to further investigate the possibility of a closer relationship with HABcore using the property at 257 Broad Street
as a home for graduates of a training program for formerly homeless and challenged individuals. That decision took
courage and vision. The Trustees spent a great deal of time investigating options, all of your opinions were sought
and shared. There was much discussion about the advantages of razing the house to expand the current Church yard,
or selling the property with the hope of gaining some additional income for much needed renovations to our other
holdings.
In the end however a consensus was arrived at that this is the right thing to do at this time, since it directly
addresses the issues of justice regarding a burgeoning need for shelter in the Monmouth County area, and the pursuit
of a belief that if we want peace we must pursue justice first. We know it would create an additional opportunity
for us as a congregation to be deeply involved in the lives of some very special people who need our care and concern
every bit as much as a place in which to live.
Such decisions are risky, but in the end…they are really quite natural.
At the same time, we like many congregations across the country are currently facing a financial shortfall. We
have many within our own church family who are presently unemployed, and there has certainly been a sharp decline
in investment dividends effecting everyone's future. People who are living on shrinking incomes are forced to cut
back, and the church is one of the places that generally feels the effects of that early on.
If one fears they cannot live up to a pledge they simply don't make one. If one is toying with the idea of membership
they find the allure of simply visiting so much more hassle free! Commitment always takes deep faith especially
when fear and facts loom large.
In order to get the disciples moving we are told that Jesus "opened their minds so that they could understand
the scriptures." That certainly sounds reasonable, but haven't you wondered why he didn't do this earlier?
Why not explain it to them before he died? Surely it would have made it easier for them - easier for them to believe
in him, easier for them to follow him, easier for them to accept the miracle of his resurrection. Surely everything
could have gone so much better during the days of Jesus' ministry if his disciples had understood the scriptures
at that time.
But they didn't understand. Instead, throughout the gospels we see the disciples bumbling and misconstruing, and
we see Jesus rebuking them and teaching them over and over again what the right way is. So, why did Jesus wait
to open their minds so that they could understand the scriptures and thereby understand him? I believe that the
answer lies in the fact that the disciples had to experience the reality of Jesus' death and resurrection before
they could really understand the Bible. Their hearts and minds could not be opened, they could not possibly understand,
until they were prepared for it by all of what they had heard, seen, and felt with Jesus.
Of all the things he could have done and said following the resurrection…and he chose to open their minds to understand
the scriptures…as if to say…it was here all along…but sometimes it takes confronting your greatest fears to see
it!
In finally understanding the scriptures the disciples of Jesus learned that they too were characters in an unfolding,
larger narrative. While they thought they had been simply tripping along trying to make sense of things, Jesus
showed them they had been and would continue to be characters in the unfolding story of God. The story reached
back to the law of Moses and unfolded through the prophets and the psalms. The story reached forward so that its
plot line involved all the nations of the world. To that point, the disciples did not know they were to advance
the action in God's great story. They were to become "witnesses" within the great story of God and their
reach was to extend to all of the nations.
That same role has come down to us.
Sometimes we excuse ourselves from the responsibility to advance the story by claiming that all of the stories
were about "them," those people who wore robes and walked and talked thousands of years ago. While that
may be true to some extent, we exaggerate when we make that claim. While most of us have neither experienced the
visitation of angels nor the overwhelming visions of John, we dare not excuse ourselves from the call to advance
the narrative.
The story of God continues to unfold. You and I have been invited to be characters in that ongoing story. We have
the great and wonderful role of telling the world that Jesus lives and that he comes bearing forgiveness, an invitation
to change, and an ongoing, compelling love for all the nations of the earth.
The story is told of the explorer who some years ago had just returned to his country from the Amazon. The people
at home were eager to learn all about the vast and mighty river and the country surrounding it. He wondered how
could he ever describe it to them - how could he ever put into words the feelings that flooded into his heart when
he saw the exotic flowers and heard the night sounds of the jungle. How could he communicate to them the smells
the filled the air and the sense of danger and excitement that would come whenever he and his fellows explorers
encountered strange animals or paddled through treacherous rapids?
So the explorer did what all good explorers do - he said to the people, "go and find out for yourselves what
it is like", and to help them he drew a map of the river pointing out the various features of its course and
describing some of the dangers and some of the routes that could be used to avoid those dangers.
Instead, the people took the map and they framed it and hung it on the wall of the local science museum so that
everyone could see it. Some even made copies of it, and after a period of time many of those who made copies for
themselves considered themselves experts on the river - and indeed they did know its every turn and bend, how broad
it was and how deep, where the rapids where and where the falls were located. They knew the river and they instructed
others in what it was like whenever those people indicated an interest in it.
But they never really went themselves! They never took the chance!
The risen Christ is not easy to recognize. When he comes among us we first must hear the proclamation: "Peace
be with you." This Shalom is grounded in his suffering and death: "See my hands and my feet." And
then he invites us to share with him a meal, like the ones he always shared with his friends, his disiciples, prostitutes
and tax collectors. At that familiar table we are given another chance to recognize him!
So again, like the Epistle for last week, we must be ready to "hear, see, and touch" before we can open
ourselves to the one who stands in our midst offering us life.
Maybe there is only one kind of disciple in this world: those who unwittingly follow Jesus; who hear what he says,
but do not understand what he means; and who, only after struggling and loss, call to remembrance the saving words
of restoration. It is only when we reach that point that we can truly be witnesses of those things and tell our
stories that others may come to be disciples.
Does it mean we then know all the answers, or that we should wait to act until we do? A recent convert to the Christian
faith was asked by one of his unbelieving friends about Jesus. The friend said to him: "I hear you have become
a Christian."
"Yes", said the convert.
"Then you must know a great deal about Christ", said the friend, "tell me, what country was he born
in?"
"I don't know", replied the convert.
"Well then, what was his age when he died?" asked the friend.
"I don't know", replied the convert.
"Well, can you tell me how many sermons he preached? Or how he was born, or how he did miracles, or how he
was raised from the dead?"
"I don't know" responded the convert.
"Well, you certainly know very little for a man who claims to be a Christian", said the friend.
"You are right," replied the convert, "I am ashamed of how little I know - but I do know this. Three
years ago I was a drunk, I was in debt, and my family was falling to pieces. My wife and children would dread my
return home each evening. I was desperate, but I didn't know where to turn so I gave my heart to God. I can tell
you that today I'm sober, out of debt, and my wife and I are in love once more.
I know that Christ did this for me.
We can know the biography of Jesus that is found in the scriptures, - we can explore the laws that are written
down, and debate the reasons for why this or that happened, - we can gain all kinds of knowledge about scripture,
but none of it will give us the understanding that God wants us to have. If we would understand what the scriptures
are really all about, then we must not only open them, we must allow them to open us - by placing our trust in
him, in the one to whom the scriptures point.
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