Resurrection witnesses are people of faith in the risen Jesus who believe that God has the final word for life. Even though they may wonder about what they have seen in life, what they may be experiencing in life, or may yet experience in life, resurrection witnesses believe the risen Jesus walks with them all the days of life.
Today’s scripture reading is about two resurrection witnesses, one whom was named Cleopas and another who is not named. In the scripture lesson, these two witnesses are telling the disciples about how they realized his presence of the risen Jesus as they walked on the road to Emmaus. It is a resurrecting moment as they tell their fellow disciples about the presence of the risen Jesus.
Resurrection witnesses – people of faith in the risen Jesus. Bishop Tim Whitaker died recently during Holy Week. Immediately prior to being assigned as a bishop of the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church, Tim had served as the superintendent of the Norfolk District of the Virginia Conference. Tim was a person of intellectual integrity who lived with faith in the risen Jesus even as he faced questions of life and death. As Tim travelled the journey of the illness that provided texture to his faith in the resurrected Jesus, he wrote a 14,000-word essay that included these words of witness to the power of hope in the risen Jesus.
The ground of my hope is basic trust in the God of the Gospel, which is all I need for living or learning to die.
Tim’s obituary includes this witness to the resurrecting power of God that bears similarities to today’s scripture reading where Jesus shares a post-Easter meal of broiled fish with his disciples.
About three weeks before he died, Bishop Whitaker reported to his wife (Melba) having a dream or vision in which people were preparing a table for him, but one of them told him it wasn’t ready yet. She noted, choking back tears, that his death came last week on Maundy Thursday, the day that recalls Jesus’ dining at the table with the disciples.
As you hear today’s scripture account of Jesus eating a piece of broiled fish, you may find yourself wondering about what these verses from Luke 24:38-4 mean.
“They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I, myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.”
Rev. Chrissy Cataldo, pastor of Winthrop Congregational Church in Maine, shares these reflections about the purpose of these verses. In the time of Jesus, there was a common belief in the presence of ghosts. Apparently, ghosts were a big enough concern that learned people developed tests to make sure that the person they were talking was real. First, you may check the potential apparition’s feet to see if they are touching the ground. You might also check their hands, to see if they feel solid. You may examine their teeth and watch them eat. Jesus followed the template of this kind of test to show that he was not a ghost. Though he has offered peace with his appearance, he saw that they were frightened. He saw that they had doubts. He knew this kind of ghost test would be familiar to them, so he ran through the motions, showing his hands, his feet, sharing some food. He needed to show them that he was real and really present as the risen Lord. In other words, Jesus called his disciples to have their lives resurrected through their faith in the risen Lord of life.
To appreciate Jesus’ call for his disciples to be resurrection witnesses, it is necessary to understand the Jewish teaching about the end of the present reality and the beginning of a new reality that would be signaled by the physical resurrection of the dead. Jesus’ encounter with his disciples in today’s reading is witnessing to this new reality as Jesus confirms a new way of understanding life as he opens the minds of his disciples so they may understand the scriptures as he calls them to be resurrection witnesses.
María Teresa Dávila notes that while we are likely intended to read Jesus’ resurrection as a victory, it is not a victory without cost. His body bears the marks of his struggle. His hands and feet, though once again alive, are scarred by the witness of the cross and his radical commitment to God’s love and justice. … The presence of Christ’s wounds helps show us that our own woundedness has a place in our community. We don’t have to hide it in order to be resurrection witnesses.
We probably didn’t ask to be a witness. One rarely does. And, yet, here we are witnesses to the movement of God in this world, tasked with sharing the word, and empowered to carry this mission out.We have seen the Lord. Now, we are invited to share that experience as people of faith in Jesus who believe that God has the final word for life.
I remember very clearly a resurrection witness whom I visited while serving as a chaplain in a hospital. She had been in the hospital for a long period of time. As we talked, she shared about her illness and the path on which it had taken her life. It had been a painful journey. On top of her illness, her daughter had recently been murdered. As we talked, she looked outside her hospital room window at the wind blowing softly through the trees and at the sunlight shining into her room. There was a pause in our conversation as she turned from looking out the window and looked at me. Then, with a tear in her eye she witnessed to the power of the resurrected Jesus as she said, “my faith in God gets me through.”
How is Jesus calling you to be a resurrection witness?
Resurrection Witnesses
by Pastor Marc Brown
April 14, 2024
Accompanying Scriptures: Luke 24:36-48
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for April 14, 2024
Scripture Lesson Luke 24:36-48
The Good News “Resurrection Witnesses”
Music “Because He Lives” by Bill and Gloria Gaither
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “I Love to Tell the Story” arr. Bill Wolaver
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