Luke 24:36-48, 1 John 3:1-7 =
&nb=
sp; =
&nb=
sp;
Touch Me and See
I haven’t seen some of you sin=
ce
Easter since I was away last week.
Easter was marvelous, wasn’t
it?
Everything about Easter is about new
life.
A baptism, that amazing opening by the choir “He is Alive.”
The refrain that we heard over and o=
ver in
both worship services:
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.
But what you should know is that Easter
is not over.
As Christians we live in the light o=
f the
Risen Christ.
Christ
is not a memory. He is a livi=
ng
presence. He is ALIVE!
And
how we act as the church is the best witness that Christ Lives!
The song we sang at the beginning of
worship, He Lives, is an old go=
spel
tune, whose composer, Alfred Ackley, understood that perfectly. Trained as a musician, he was also=
a
devout Christian and a Presbyterian minister. In the early 1930s he was preachin=
g at a
series of evangelistic meetings
when he was approached by a sincere =
young
Jewish student,
who asked him rather bluntly:
“Why should I worship a dead Jew?” <= o:p>
Ackley's answer came quickly: "He lives, I tell yo=
u.
He is not dead, but lives here and now. Jesus Christ is
more alive today than ever before.
I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the
testimony of countless thousands."&nb=
sp;
Not long afterward, his emphatic answer became a sermon=
,
and then the song “He Lives,” published in
1933.
The student was eventually converted, And the hymn, “He Lives,” has contin=
ued to
assure believers
of the reality of Christ’s continuing presence among us. [1]
The crucifixion was not the end of t=
he
story.
We worship the Risen Christ, not a
crucified God.
But try telling that to the 11 disci=
ples
who were hiding out in
huddled in fear, after the
crucifixion.
The word was out that Jesus had rise=
n from
the dead,
but up to this point, only a few peo=
ple
had seen him --
the women at the tomb, and Cleopas and another disciple
as they walked along the road to
Emmaus.
It is only when these two followers =
break
bread together –
when they share a meal with Jesus=
211;
that they realize that they had seen=
the
Risen Christ.
So they return to share the good new=
s with
the others.
That’s where our reading picks=
up
today.
We read “While =
they
were talking about this” --
and what they were ta=
lking
about
was that appearance o=
f Jesus
on the road to Emmaus.
And so, while they were talking back=
in
“Peace be with you,” he =
says.
This is the third appearance of the =
Risen
Christ to his followers
and like each of the previous appear=
ances
there is fear.
The disciples thought they were seei=
ng a
spirit, a ghost.
“Peace be with you.” Jesus says to them and their fear.
Peace -- shalom -- meaning whole and comple=
te.
Not full of fear and confusion. Not broken and fractured. Not tang=
led up
in doubt.
This resurrection appearance is diff=
erent
than the experience at Emmaus.
In the town of
sharing at the table with the bread =
and
the wine – that opened their eyes.
Here, in
Here is proof, he says. Look at my h=
ands
and feet. Touch me and see.
They wanted to see. They wanted to t=
ouch.
Jesus let them. Encouraged th=
em.
Jesus knows how we are –
how we need the reassurance of thing=
s we
can see and touch.
Many studies have been done on child=
ren
raised in orphanages
who were not regularly touched as
infants.
What was discovered was that a lack =
of
touch resulted in a failure to thrive.&nbs=
p;
These babies didn’t grow physi=
cally
and also developed severe social problems.=
We human beings need the reassurance of touch to live.
Maybe that is why our faith is such =
an incarnational, embodied faith.
Jesus comes to us, after all, as Emm=
anuel,
which means God with us.
We need to touch and see.
Even when Jesus showed them his hand=
s and
his feet, in their joy,
the scripture says, they were still
disbelieving.
Can you hear them saying to each oth=
er -
Can you believe it? Can you believe it?&nb=
sp;
But as if to reinforce for the disci=
ples
just how real he was,
Jesus asked for a piece of bread.
The details are given of what he eat=
s - a
piece of broiled fish. =
And then he opened their minds to
understand the scriptures, explaining everything.
Word and Table go together, a patter=
n we
repeat each Sunday in our worship.
But it didn’t end with word and
table
and it doesn’t end that way wi=
th our
worship either.
Jesus commissioned these disciples <= o:p>
to proclaim repentance and forgivene=
ss of
sins to all nations.
You are to be witnesses of these thi=
ngs,
he said,
and promises them the power to do
that.
We
are the ones who must witness to the Risen Christ.
Through
us, Jesus is touched and seen. We make Christ real for others.
When I was at the General Board meet=
ing
last week
I got into a conversation at lunch o=
ne day
with a woman
who is the general minister of anoth=
er
region.
She told me that her 23 year old dau=
ghter
was working at a church
in another state with the children a=
nd
youth.
But this young woman was continuousl=
y
frustrated with the inward focus of =
the
church.
When you’re 23 it’s hard=
to
change the world, not to mention a church.=
So this young woman decided to take matters into her own hands. <= o:p>
Every Friday, she buys a pizza,
then walks down the street from this=
urban
church, turns the corner,
walks a little more and sits down al=
ong
the fence,
where she shares the pizza with the
homeless men there.
First there were two, now there are =
three
or four or five men
and she has started bringing two
pizzas. And she listens.
It seems l=
ike a
small thing,
but as this
young woman reaches out and touches others in the name of Christ,
she embodi=
es the
Risen Christ.
She is a w=
itness
to the living Christ.
She has -- and all of us have a miss=
ion -
we have been commissioned -
to see and touch others in the name =
of
Christ.
When we keep the risen Christ inside=
the
walls of our churches,
that makes a church a tomb instead o=
f a
mission station.
Our first scripture reading reminds =
us
that “We are children of God” –
we must reach out to all of God̵=
7;s
children.
That’s not done=
by
turning inward in the church.
It’s done by lo=
oking
outward and serving there.
It’s NOT done by
worrying about the church is going=
to
make it.
It’s done by fo=
cusing
on how we’re going to help o=
thers
make it.
And trusting in God&#=
8217;s
power to help make it happen.
We’re already d=
oing
that in some ways. Prayer Pow=
er for
Job Seekers is a new ministry of care and prayer which has developed becaus=
e we
saw a need.
A small group is meet=
ing
every Wednesday to have lunch,
share prayer concerns=
, and to
pray together.
This is not your ordi=
nary job
networking meeting.
We have a meal of sou=
p and
sandwiches.
After that we share c=
oncerns,
encourage each other, and then pray.
In between times, the=
group
stays connected by email.
The purpose of the group which has =
been
evolving steadily since March is:
“To=
reach
out in a selfless way to support and pray for and with
those who=
are
looking for work.”
Pennies for Peace is =
another
effort that
just kind of bubbled =
up out
of the Holy Spirit.
You’ve been hea=
ring a
lot about this 3 month drive to collect pennies and loose change to help bu=
ild
schools and change lives in
Kids are the power be=
hind
this project here at our church.
We’ve collected=
$200 in
pennies and loose change and have another month to go.
There is a lot of tal=
k these
days about the church.
It’s dying, the
pollsters say. Fewer people g=
o to
church every year.
Mainline Protestant
denominations are declining rapidly.
Thousands of churches=
close
every year.
But I’ve got something to say about all of that.
Don’t tell me t=
hat the
church is dying. Because
Jesus Lives.
20th centu=
ry
theologian Jurgen Moltman<=
/span>
put it this way:
“Where Jesus is=
, there
is life.
There is abundant lif=
e,
vigorous life, loved live and eternal life.
There is life before death.” And it’=
;s up
to us, the church, the Body of Christ,
to see that life and =
touch
others with that life.
There is no shortage =
of ways
to do this at Peachtree Corners Christian Church.
The best way to meet =
the
Risen Christ - to deepen your own relationship with Jesus - is to take that
life to others.
Pennies for Peace - g=
ive that
loose change to this project the children are doing.
Earth Day Worship this
evening - we have a responsibility to care for the earth God has given us -=
and
a responsibility to learn more about that!
Prayer Power for Job =
Seekers
- this effort needs some support from someone in this church who has some
weekday availability -
don’t wait for =
someone
to ask you -
tell
VBS in a Box at Norcr=
oss
Co-op -
There are hundreds of
children served each week at NCM.
When we go there with=
our
we are bringing them =
the hope
of Jesus and the love of God.
What an incredible
opportunity! Please tell
take a tag or two or =
3 and
bring some of the needed supplies back.&nb=
sp;
Or talk to Angie about
helping the community
by being part of next
Sunday’s park cleanup.
Talk to Lurene or Mar=
garet
about
making a prayer shawl=
for
someone who needs prayer.
The Church doesn̵=
7;t need
people who are willing to sit in the pew as much as it needs people who are
willing to pound the streets for Jesus.&nb=
sp;
Disciples do what Jes=
us did.
There are people outs=
ide that
door, people you know,
people in this commun=
ity
dying to see and touch Jesus. &=
nbsp;
People who need to be=
touched
by Jesus.
And we are the ones to
witness to these things.
(Theresa of
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet, on earth but yours.
Your are the eyes through which He looks with
Compassion on this world
Yours are the feet
With which He walks to do good.
Your are the hands
With which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet.
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes, through which He Looks
compassion on the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Through us and in us, and with us, by the power =
of the
Holy Spirit, He Lives.
May the way WE LIVE, be a witness to the Risen
Christ. Amen.
[1] S. Adams, C. Cartwright, D. Merrick, C= halice Hymnal: A Worship Leader’s Companion (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1998), p. 226-227