Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2009-03-01 / 3-4. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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Mediated Through Flesh

Luke 24:1-12 teaches us the following about The Resurrection:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. And from John 20:19-31 we learn: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors lockedforfear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you! ” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, lam sending you. ” And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 2 3 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. ”Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. ” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. ” Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God! ” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. ” Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Remember is a key word in the Bible. At Easter we remember the resurrection of Jesus in order to find hope. Luke uses remember in his version of the resurrection story. For him the followers of Jesus should have known not to look for the living among the dead. Had they understood what Jesus told them, they would have anticipated the resurrection. On Easter morning the two men in dazzling clothes urged the terrified women at the tomb to “...Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of

sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again. ’ ”

But Mary just stood weeping outside the tomb. She wanted to remember the Teacher who had called her out of the darkness. She had seen that the big stone covering the grave had been rolled back by some grave robbers. Bolting in terror that they might still be lurking about, she had run and dragged two of the disciples out of their beds with the alarming news: “They had taken the Lord out of the tomb!” Perhaps they could still pick up the trail, find where the body had been taken. Rather than starting to search about the garden, they simply walked away, saying nothing to her. They had abandoned Jesus when he was arrested; why should she expect them to risk their necks to track down his corpse now, especially if the chief priests were behind this theft? In fact, the disciples locked themselves in a room because they were afraid and hopeless. Suddenly, however, Jesus was there. John does not tell us how He entered. The disciples must not have recognized Him. This is a common thread through the resurrection stories: Jesus appears in the midst of those closest to Him, the people who know and love him, and they do not recognize Him. Mary Magdalene mistakes Him for the gardener until He calls her by name. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus do not recognize the Risen Christ until the end of the journey, when they share a meal with Him. Only belatedly do Peter and John realize that the stranger on the shore, directing them to an astonishing catch of fish, is their Teacher.

Thomas was not present in that closed-up room. Later, when his friends told him, “We have seen the Lord,” he refused to believe his eyes alone and demanded to touch and probe Christ’s wounded body. Jesus responds by inviting Thomas to “put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.” This is a powerful invitation to experience His physical presence, His physical realness.

Of course, touching can be as routine as a handshake. Or, as the Easter account in Luke 24 proclaims, touching can be the means whereby the Risen Lord Jesus chooses to make Himself known. He shows the disciples His hands and feet and says: “Touch me and see that it is I myself; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” The story is told carefully, so as not to make faith a tactile matter for a few privileged disciples; instead it conveys a trust in the gospel word of Easter for everyone, for all time. In the hallways of nursing homes across the land, many spend hours wondering if family or friends will ever come to touch their hands. From every side and in the most unexpected ways, Christ meets us and calls to us - He asks so little of us — while we are the ones who need so much.

Jesus’ appearance in the midst of His frightened friends is a story of incarnation, and reminds us that God came and comes among us, experiencing and loving our humanity. We are aware of this at Christmastime, when we hear that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” During that time, churches fill, and even non-believers are drawn instinctively by the powerful image of God coming among us in the perfection, loveliness and vulnerability of a baby. Yet Good Friday is about the incarnation too. Jesus on the cross is an icon of suffering, a powerful statement about the flesh and particularly about its terrible vulnerability. His Passion reminds us of our almost Continued on page 6