Touch and See: Witnesses to the Risen Christ

Well, if we don't start here, if we don't watch that piece of fish being eaten, if we don't grab hold, we won't see. And if we don't see, then we're likely to turn our message into one of only the hereafter, only the sweet by and by and not the here and now. We might even be liable to think that all the resurrected one cares about is getting souls into some spiritualized, idealized heaven somewhere else instead of feeding those who are hungry for breakfast right here in our own neighborhoods. [00:40:41] (44 seconds)  #FaithInActionNow

The word made flesh still seeks sustenance among us. So then he asks for something to eat. Like a ventriloquist drinking a glass of water or a magician pulling up his sleeves to show nothing hidden there. This is real, folks. Watch me eat this piece of fish. I'm no ghost. No figment of your imagination or delusion brought on by lack of sleep and constant terror. I'm as real as you. [00:39:01] (30 seconds)  #JesusIsReal

Jesus is not a ghost or a zombie. He's a real person. The resurrected Christ has a body. And even if contemporary believers cannot embrace Jesus as his disciples did, we bear witness to more than a spiritualized demythologized Christ when we preach about Jesus' resurrection. Even as the resurrected Christ, Jesus continued to bear the marks of his suffering for us. Even resurrected, Jesus' body bears witness to a way of being for others. He embodies love. [00:36:13] (41 seconds)  #EmbodiedResurrection

When Jesus appears to his followers, they think they're seeing a ghost. They're terrified. They're filled with fear. Now this is completely understandable. Dead stuff is supposed to stay dead. And yet, here Jesus is resurrected. In another sense, Jesus' resurrection means that what he said was true. And if he was not bluffing about his resurrection, we have to assume that Jesus really meant what he said about how his followers are to treat others, especially the marginalized. [00:34:30] (38 seconds)  #ResurrectionMeansAction

Grab hold and see as if your life depended on it, as if your hopes would be found in it. Grab hold of the reality of Christ and see not just him, but you too. See your path, your future, your mission, and your reason for being. Then Jesus gives us the opportunity to display hospitality. Very important hospitality. Just as the dying Jesus was thirsty, the risen Christ is hungry. [00:38:22] (39 seconds)  #HospitalityInAction

I am here with you, and I am who I said I am, and you are witnesses. Now that's where our text ends this week with this declaration, with the reality of the resurrected Jesus and the promise that life, the life we know, the life we experience is stronger than death. It doesn't avoid death because he didn't avoid death, but it goes beyond death. The implications are as staggering as his appearance was to those cowering followers moments ago. [00:39:31] (38 seconds)  #LifeBeyondDeath

Well, they picked themselves up off the floor, and they wondered if they'd ever know peace again. They were haunted by him, by the idea of him, by the blood of him. They were terrified of their shame, of how they had abandoned him, of how they wouldn't believe in what he had told them before, and how they wouldn't believe in what the woman said they saw. Given those things, perhaps Jesus' presence ought to haunt every fellowship worthy of his name. [00:33:50] (40 seconds)  #HauntingPresence

The culmination of Jesus' words to the disciples, you are my witnesses, is what I call performative language. That is language in which the words do something. This scene is a kind of Lukan ordination. He first names and appoints the disciples as witnesses. Literally, in Greek, that word meant martyrs. Because of its shortness, this sentence, this you are my witnesses, receives strong emphasis, and it's directly addressed to us, to present day listeners. You. [00:42:12] (42 seconds)  #CalledToWitness

This ordination ceremony began with the greeting, blessing, and commissioning of peace be with you. We are witnesses to and witnesses of God's peace in the world. The peace and the blessings of God and Jesus Christ transcend racial, ethnic, economic, social, gendered, and heteronormative prejudices. It is good news for everyone without exception. We are called to be carriers of that peace, transmitting it and transforming spaces by it. [00:42:54] (43 seconds)  #CarryGodsPeace

He decides to ground them in some fleshy reality. He says, look. I've got hands. I've got feet. Touch me. I'm real, he says. I've got flesh and bones. I'm real, like the Velveteen rabbit. No. He didn't really say that, but that's fun to think about. Anyway, he's talking about being flesh and blood like them. This resurrected Christ was no disembodied spirit nor was Jesus merely a resuscitated corpse. [00:35:43] (30 seconds)  #TouchTheReal

Reliable to think that injustice here doesn't matter because it will all be sorted out one day. Instead of advocating for the oppressed and working for justice in our own communities. That command, take hold of me and see, is about wanting to live in the world that he lived in and bring hope to our reality every day. It is about living in the realm, the kingdom of God right here and right now. We are witnesses compelled to touch and see the world and participate in its transformation into the kingdom of God. [00:41:26] (46 seconds)  #KingdomHereNow

Now, actually, if you dig a little deeper, he doesn't just say, touch me and see. In that language, he says, grab hold of me. Handle me. Even grope around. John says that Jesus says, don't hang on to me when he meets Mary in the garden. But in Luke, Jesus says to the disciples in this room, they're reeling from shock, disciples, grab hold of me. Ground yourselves in me. [00:37:13] (33 seconds)  #GrabHoldOfChrist

Why do doubts arise in your hearts? What kind of question was that? Surely, he knew why doubts were rising in their hearts. Surely, he had an inkling of just how incredible this event was. Sure. He had gotten used to the idea. After all, he did have inside information. But they never let themselves actually hope. So they were gasping for air and clutching their chests while he stood there asking them, are you okay? [00:35:07] (36 seconds)  #FacingDoubt

And the verb, the one that is translated as as touch, is a second person plural. So it's all of you. All y'all, grab hold and hang on. Oh, that's right. I'm not in the South anymore. Hey, everybody. Grab hold of me. And behold. The see verb, it is an imperative. That means a command, and it is also second person plural. He's commanding all of them to do this. [00:37:46] (36 seconds)  #EveryoneGrabHold

And here's the point of this text. It is real. It is grounded in the reality in which we live, touch, see. The gospel, the life of faith, has to be grounded in reality. That's why he dwelled on this moment. That's why we can take a breath at this point be before we launch into a life of going to the ends of the earth to tell the story. This is where we start. Why? [00:40:10] (32 seconds)  #FaithGroundedInReality