Jesus' resurrection is for bodies: easter 3 year b

The holy gospel according to Luke. (24:36b-48)

[³⁶While they were talking about this,]

Jesus Themself stood among the eleven and their companions and said to them,

     “Peace be with you.”

³⁷The disciples were startled and terrified,

     and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

³⁸Jesus said to them,

     “Why are you frightened,

     and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

          ³⁹Look 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.”

⁴⁰And when Jesus had said this,

     They showed them Their hands and feet.

     ⁴¹While in their joy those gathered were disbelieving and still wondering,

          Jesus said to them,

               “Have you anything here to eat?”

                    ⁴²They gave Jesus a piece of broiled fish,

                         ⁴³and Jesus took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴Then Jesus said to them,

     “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—

          that everything written about me

               in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures,

     ⁴⁶and said to them,

          “Thus it is written,

               that the Messiah is to suffer 

                    and to rise from the dead on the third day,

               ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed

                    in Their name to all nations,

                         beginning from Jerusalem.

          ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.”

The gospel of the Lord.

------

A couple weeks ago, Rev. Beth Wartick, a colleague in this synod, posted on Facebook, “Friends: the resurrection is for bodies.”  The post was a bit unsettling at first, because I think I’ve gotten pretty used to making the resurrection into an exclusively spirit and soul-centered or even an intellectual reality, I like to talk about it, but I’m less sure about its physicality. Our resurrection accounts both last week and this week, however, provide us with ample evidence for her statement.

Last week we encountered Jesus in the gospel of John presenting hands, feet, and side to the slow-to-believe and fear-filled disciples, prompting Thomas’ great declaration of faith, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus’ presentation of Their actual resurrected body, wounds and all, speaks to the disciples in a way that no number of eye-witness accounts could have, and this week’s resurrection account is no different.

Jesus has just spent the day walking along the road to Emmaus with Cleopas and another disciple, explaining everything that Holy Week—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and that very Resurrection morning—meant.  Jesus had literally and figuratively walked them through all of scripture, interpreting it just for them.

But it wasn’t until Jesus sat with them and blessed and broke bread—the nourishment for their own bodies—that they recognized the Resurrected One.  And when Jesus shows up with the rest of the disciples in today’s reading, it is once again about the body: “³⁹Look 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,” says Jesus.

Jesus knows the same truth as Pastor Beth: “The resurrection is for bodies.”  There is knowledge and wisdom in our bodies and embodied lives that our intellect can only ever grasp at futilely.  Jesus knows that our bodies carry in them the truths of our lived experiences, of our ancestors’ lives, and even the sparks of stardust that are scattered throughout the cosmos.

Each body comes from and is nourished by the dirt of the earth and is also made up of the stardust of that first Big Bang of life.  Each body reflects a piece of the image of God.  Jesus’ resurrection is about bodies because bodies matter to Jesus.  Bodies are part of our whole selves and when we create this false binary that divides souls from bodies, we fracture who we are.  We lose track of the fullness of our humanity and our belovedness by God.  We don’t just do this with words and ideas, we fracture the whole body of Christ, the image of God that we bear together, in physical ways as well.

Before moving to Iowa, I served as a pastor in rural southeastern Minnesota and I spent quite a bit of time with beloved children of God who worked on farms near town—not only those who owned or ran the farms, but especially those who make the oftentimes difficult and life-threatening trip north from Mexico and Central America to get up in the middle of the night to milk the cows, or early in the morning when it’s still below freezing to start harvesting the crops.

Their immigrant bodies, which carry so much of the burden and weight of feeding our country, are part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

The bodies of those who cultivate the earth on farms, in personal or community gardens, and even in potted plants are also part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

Your bodies, our bodies, weary from carrying us through decades of life, from backpacks full of school books, from the energy and demands of new babies and young children, or from the pressure to be or act a certain way are part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

The bodies that struggle with stairs, standing, or even eating are part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

The bodies of victims of violence, whether the violence happens in the confines of their home, at a party late at night, in the stares and fear of others on the street or at the coffee shop, across the world with chemical weapons and bombs in Syria, or anywhere in between are all part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

The bodies of refugees, fleeing violence, seeking hope and compassion, allowed in some countries and not in others are part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

The bodies around the world, in our fullest possible diversity—bodies that don’t look anything like yours and bodies that are so similar it isn’t possible to deny that you are kin—all of these bodies and your very own body are part of Jesus’ death and resurrection and Jesus loves them.

Bodies contain wisdom and understand truths that can be hard for us to grasp.  Jesus presents first a body with wounds—a broken, yet resurrected body—knowing that once the body understands the reality, the structure or skeleton, of the resurrection, then the words can give flesh to those bones.  Jesus’ words are good, but first Jesus’ body must convey the truth.

Jesus’ resurrection is bodily.  Jesus blesses and breaks bread.  Jesus eats broiled fish!  Jesus loves bodies.

And so a blessing from Pastor Beth:

“Friends: the resurrection is for bodies.

The resurrection is for: skinny bodies, fat bodies, in-between bodies.

The resurrection is for: brown bodies, black bodies, olive bodies, white bodies.

The resurrection is for: female bodies, transgender bodies, male bodies, tall bodies, short bodies.

The resurrection is for: undocumented bodies, citizen bodies, visitor bodies, immigrant bodies.

The resurrection is for: wrinkly bodies, smooth bodies, hairy bodies, swimsuit-ready bodies, sweatpants-ready bodies.

The resurrection is for: old bodies, young bodies, able bodies, disabled bodies, tired bodies.

The resurrection is for: any bodies, every body, your body.

Jesus loves your body enough to give it new life. Treat your body and your neighbor's body with the same respect you'd show to anything beloved by God.”

Amen.

Jesus meets us where we're at: Easter 2c

The other reading I reference is Revelation 1:4-8.

The holy gospel according to John (20:19-31)

¹⁹When it was evening on that day,

      the first day of the week,

      and the doors of the house

            where the disciples had met

                  were locked for fear of the Judeans,

      Jesus came and stood among them and said,

            “Peace be with you.”

                  ²⁰After he said this,

                        he showed them his hands and his side.

                              Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

      ²¹Jesus said to them again,

            “Peace be with you.

                  As the Father has sent me,

                        so I send you.”

            ²²When he had said this,

                  he breathed on them and said to them,

                        “Receive the Holy Spirit.

                              ²³If you forgive the sins of any,

                                    they are forgiven them;

                              if you retain the sins of any,

                                    they are retained.”

            ²⁴But Thomas

                  (who was called the Twin),

                  one of the twelve,

                        was not with them when Jesus came.

                              ²⁵So the other disciples told him,

                                    “We have seen the Lord.”

                              But he said to them,

                                    “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,

                                    and put my finger in the mark of the nails

                                    and my hand in his side,

                                          I will not believe.”

²⁶A week later Jesus’ disciples were again in the house,

      and Thomas was with them.

      Although the doors were shut,

            Jesus came and stood among them and said,

                  “Peace be with you.”

            ²⁷Then he said to Thomas,

                  “Put your finger here and see my hands.

                        Reach out your hand and put it in my side.

                              Do not doubt but believe.”

            ²⁸Thomas said to Jesus,

                  “My Lord and my God!”

            ²⁹Jesus said to him,

                  “Have you believed because you have seen me?

                        Blessed are those who have not seen

                              and yet have come to believe.”

                  ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

                        which are not written in this book.

                        ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe

                              that Jesus is the Messiah,

                                    the Son of God,

                              and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The gospel of the Lord.

-----

Thomas is one of my favorite disciples.  One of the things I love about Thomas comes from a paper I wrote in seminary.  I was writing a paper using disability theology, which is theology specifically from the perspective of folks who our dominant culture considers disabled.  I went in looking at Jesus as disabled, with his wounds from the cross as part of the whole resurrected Christ and what I found was that Thomas is blind!  I think that Thomas was blind and that this is a bigger deal for us today than it seemed to be for Thomas and the other disciples back then.

You see, Thomas, who is called the twin—perhaps because he is usually accompanied by someone to help him navigate busy, bustling streets—is the disciple who is: a-braver than all the rest, b-more foolhardy than all the rest, or c-unlucky enough to draw the short stick when the disciples ran out of their supply of food.  Whatever the case, on that first day of the week Thomas was the one disciple not inside the doors, which were “locked for fear of the Judeans.”

In this resurrection account in John, Peter and the Beloved Disciple have already returned from scoping out the tomb that morning when Mary announced the body was missing, and now they believe… without understanding.  Mary has returned again since then to announce that she has “seen the Lord.”  And yet the disciples remain locked up and fearful. 

Except Thomas who, even if he is afraid, goes out into the world anyway.  And while Thomas is out, Jesus comes into the disciples’ locked room, sneaking through the cracks and crevices of their fear-filled, locked up “no” to breathe on them “Peace be with you.” 

The disciples have locked the doors, shut themselves in against a scary and dangerous world out there.  Yet, through the cracks in the walls, under the door, even the cracks in the disciples’ clear “no,” Jesus meets them where they’re at.  Even in their fear and lack of understanding Jesus shows them the wounds that make Jesus whole.  And then the disciples recognize their Lord.

When Thomas returns, it is finally the disciples’ turn to proclaim the resurrection.  “We have seen the Lord” they teasingly announce to the one whose eyes do not see, the one who was not there, the one who faced his own fear outside their safely locked room.  Thomas responds with their language.  Stating his own, similar need, Thomas says “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”  Thomas also needs to “see”—which is for him, to touch and feel, in order to believe.

So the next week, with the doors still closed, Jesus comes again.  This time Thomas is with the other disciples and it would be easy to believe that Jesus comes just for Thomas.  It would be easy to believe, that is,          if the disciples weren’t still in the same room with the doors shut up against the fearful outside world. Because the truth is: the disciples probably still need this just as much or more than Thomas.  And they need Thomas with them to venture out into the world.

And so Jesus comes again breathing his “Peace be with you” to them.  Jesus comes to Thomas and gives him the woundedness still present in the resurrected Christ, saying “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.” Because for Thomas who is blind, to touch is to see.  To touch is to know, that this is “the Alpha and the Omega”—this is the everything—from Alpha to Omega, from before the beginning of all time to past the end of it.  Jesus is “the Almighty.”

And from those moments of clarity—of deep, soul-shattering clarity—comes the ultimate confession as Thomas replies “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus comes to the disciples again and again.  Jesus meets Thomas and all the others where they are, meeting them in the struggle for faith, in the struggle with grief.

The resurrection comes with new life and hope, certainly, and it also comes in the midst of grief—over a leader lost and of a leader who is not who they thought—one who leads differently.  They grieve the unmet expectations, of a mighty and powerful overthrow, expectations the disciples hadn’t realized existed until those expectations died on the cross.

The resurrection comes with new life and Jesus breaks in through the cracks and crevices of our fear and our “no”s to breathe Jesus’ “Peace be with you.”  The one who covers all time: present, past, and future comes with the slow quiet breath of “Peace be with you.” 

Jesus meets Mary at the tomb, calling her “Mary!” and naming her into the resurrection. 

                                   

Jesus meets the disbelieving disciples, locked in their fear, breathing “Peace be with you” and forgiveness of sins. 

And Jesus meets them again when nothing seems to have changed except that Thomas is with them this time.  And Jesus again breathes “Peace be with you” and reaches out to Thomas, joining Thomas in physical sight, so that Thomas, feeling Jesus’ broken body—the physical reality of the crucifixion as a part of this whole Resurrected one, Thomas can then make the great confession “My Lord and my God!”

And Jesus comes again and again to us today.  Jesus’ broken body feeds us, Jesus’ blood of the new covenant, the cup of salvation, fills us with joy.  Today Jesus comes to us and we taste and feel the goodness of our Lord and our God.  Again and again Jesus meets us where we are at, in our hunger and thirst, in our doubts and disbeliefs.  Jesus joins us.

Because Christ is risen!  Christ is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

christ crucified and resurrected frees us for interdependence: 2nd of easter

The first reading was from Acts 4:32-35.

The holy gospel according to John (20:19-31)

¹⁹When it was evening on that day,

       the first day of the week,

              and the doors of the house

                     where the disciples had met were locked

                            for fear of the Judeans,

                     Jesus came and stood among them and said,

                            “Peace be with you.”

                     ²⁰After he said this,

                            he showed them his hands and his side.

                                   Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

                     ²¹Jesus said to them again,

                            “Peace be with you.

                                   As the Father has sent me,

                                          so I send you.”

                     ²²When he had said this,

                            he breathed on them and said to them,

                                   “Receive the Holy Spirit.

                                          ²³If you forgive the sins of any,

                                                 they are forgiven them;

                                          if you retain the sins of any,

                                                 they are retained.”

                     ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin),

                            one of the twelve,

                                   was not with them when Jesus came.

                                          ²⁵So the other disciples told him,

                                                 “We have seen the Lord.”

                                   But he said to them,

                                          “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands,

                                                 and put my finger in the mark of the nails

                                                 and my hand in his side,

                                                        I will not believe.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were again in the house,

       and Thomas was with them.

       Although the doors were shut,

              Jesus came and stood among them and said,

                     “Peace be with you.”

              ²⁷Then he said to Thomas,

                     “Put your finger here and see my hands.

                            Reach out your hand and put it in my side.

                                   Do not doubt but believe.”

              ²⁸Thomas answered him,

                     “My Lord and my God!”

              ²⁹Jesus said to him,

                     “Have you believed because you have seen me?

                            Blessed are those who have not seen

                                   and yet have come to believe.”

              ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

                     which are not written in this book.

                            ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe

                                   that Jesus is the Messiah,

                                          the Son of God,

                                   and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The gospel of the lord.

-----

Today is our first post-resurrection encounter with Christ, our crucified and risen lord.  In this encounter, we find Jesus not whole and without scar or wound or blemish.  Instead we find Jesus wounded, his feet and hands and side not festering, perhaps, but also not healed.  Never to heal.  Jesus is a Christ who bares his wounds.   

If he were alive and living among us, he would be called disabled, handicapped.  The pain of trying to walk on feet that have been pierced, would put him in a wheelchair, dependent on others, to say nothing of his hands and side.  Even as we proclaim Christ as the crucified one, we want him to be healthy, independent, and able-bodied in the resurrection.  But that is not the Jesus we encounter today in John.

We encounter a Jesus whose body has been broken by the powers of the world in the crucifixion and who is still our Resurrected One.  If Jesus is not an argument for changing our language from disabled to differently abled, then…well, we’ll just have to rely on the scientist Stephen Hawking, local former paralympic athelete Tanja Kari, and others to do that.

Christ crucified and risen, categorized as disabled, gives us new ways to understand the world and our place in it—not a place of total independence and freedom from obligation, but instead freedom as the early church in Acts lived it out.  Freedom to depend on each other.

Our reading from Acts reports, “³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common….³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”

Our freedom in the resurrection is freedom to depend on each other, freedom to not have it all together.  And freedom to hold in common that which we hold nearest and dearest, that which pulls our emotions most strongly.  Those things that stress you most—money, family, politics, work—are not yours alone.  They are ours to hold together, ours to share together. 

Our children at Christ the King are all of ours.  We all get to care for them and engage with them in the life of faith.  We get to share with them and learn from them the joys of generosity and giving.  And the children get to share with the grown ups, to teach grown ups about faith and generosity. 

Together we all get to share the connections we have with those in the wider world—with folks who are sick, who have lost hair because of chemo or other sicknesses; with the families who find shelter through Family Promise, or grief support through The Sharing Place.

In the resurrection, our wounded Christ, our disabled or differently-abled Christ connects us in relationships of mutual dependence.  We all have needs and we all have gifts to share.  We all have different abilities.  Christ frees us to be open about our needs and our gifts, to engage with each other in a spirit of generosity and mutuality.

Not all of us have the direct communication skills of newborns.  Somewhere along the way, as we learned to talk, most of us also learned to be “independent,” to not share our needs or weaknesses with others.  But our Christ shares his wounds with us—so much so that Thomas is invited to thrust his finger and hands in Jesus’ hands and side.

But how do we do that?  How do we hold this all “in common”?  First by sharing.  In small groups, talk about: How you care for others.  How you recognize your connection to “each as any has need.”  How you could share with another today or this week.

If you’re feeling brave, I invite you to share with the whole group what you can share.  How your generosity might connect us all together.

And now, holding it all in common is not just about your gifts and abilities.  How do you recognize your own need?  How do you make it known?  In small groups, share: what is a need that you have?

If you’re feeling brave, I invite you to share with the whole group what need(s) you have.

This is the resurrection life.  It is a life of mutuality, of interdependence and of different abilities.  God gives us each different abilities, we all have needs as well as gifts to share.   And we get to hold them all in common with the whole of creation.

Thanks be to God.