April 6, 2010

Easter Evening
That Sunday evening (the day of the resurrection) the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Luke 24:19-20 (NLT)

I like the details that Luke picked up on as he researched (check out the first few lines of Luke’s Gospel) Jesus’ resurrection appearances; “locked doors”,“afraid of the Jewish Leaders”. This was evening of what we now call Easter, and Jesus’ bewildered and fearful (their leader was killed!) friends and followers were hiding behind locked doors wondering, “what do we do now?”. Then Jesus appears. He apparently “materialized”, having entered through solid walls and locked doors, yet was “material”, “in the flesh”. In other words he was not a ghost, rather he was in a body similar yet dissimiliar to the one he had before he was crucified. I think it’s fair to think that we can get a hint from Jesus resurrected body at what our resurrected bodies may be like.

Here’s a thought. The disciples didn’t know what to do next, so they gathered in a room and locked it. Then Jesus showed up. It occurs to me that when we retreat, not knowing what to do next, just waiting, depending, vulnerable, perhaps at the end of our rope, it is then that we are most open to receiving the presence and guidance of Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit. For forty days, Jesus showed up physically to guide and comfort the disciples. After the ascension and 10 days later, Pentecost, Jesus’ “appearances" were and continue to be by way of the Holy Spirit. Dependence creates the fertile ground into which God’s Sprit can plant his seeds of guidance, comfort and hope.