What Do You See

 Luke 24:36-48 NRSVUE

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “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. Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and 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.

Then he 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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

If there is one consistent theme that presents itself in the stories of Jesus' resurrection is that nobody seems to recognize him.

It starts, of course, at the tomb, and it doesn't matter which Gospel or resurrection story you choose.

My favorite resurrection day story is found in the Gospel of Mark, because it is so brief.  

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome come to the tomb early resurrection morning and find it empty and a young man there.  

And that is it.  

Was the young man Jesus?, 

Is he risen?

We have no idea.

John’s gospel, which we heard from on Easter Sunday and last Sunday, tells us that Mary is convinced she is talking with a gardener, before she realizes it is Jesus.  And the disciples were so moved by meeting Jesus in the locked room that JoAnne shared about last week, that in the next chapter they return back to their boats on the Sea of Galilee and have no idea that it is Jesus that they encounter.

Then of course there is Luke, where the two people are walking along with a stranger on their way to Emmaus and they have no idea that the stranger is actually Jesus.

It was that encounter that the disciples were talking about when our story begins.

Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

These stories always bothered me — 

How could these disciples who had followed Jesus around during his ministry not have recognized him?

How could they think they were seeing a ghost?

How many of you got the opportunity to experience the eclipse this past Monday?

I remember as a kid building a box to experience an eclipse

And I was pastoring in Indianapolis in 2017 during the last major eclipse — the whole staff was out in the parking lot in awe of God’s creative beauty.

Nancy and I drove down to Indianapolis early Monday morning to spend the afternoon with the house group that we were a part of at Meridian Street UMC and experience the TOTAL eclipse together.

Watching in 2017 was amazing — but experiencing the total eclipse was out of this world.

Especially in the company of friends

Now the drive back was also out of this world — it took about twice as long as normal.

But what struck me were the comments of numerous religious leaders (some of them friends) who were convinced that the eclipse (that are naturally occurring events throughout history and can be precisely predicted in the future) were supernatural manifestations of God giving a warning specifically to the American people.

Too many pastors were calling the eclipse the beginning of the end — or even the rapture.

Well, we are all here, so we obviously were not taken up — I am not sure if that says something about us — but just to be certain I checked with the living saints that I know — and none of them were taken either.

But for the first time in my life — I understand why people trek around the world to experience a total eclipse.

What intrigues about our gospel story is —- what is it that we see?

I believe that it was the late Marcus Borg who said that the resurrection was not a Kodak moment.  Meaning that you could not photograph or videotape it.

That seems somewhat clear enough in our story, when the disciples are convinced that what they are seeing is a ghost.

But also very obvious, when in the story of the walk to Emmaus, the stranger/Jesus simply disappears.

Why is it — that Jesus can be standing right in front of us — and we can’t see him?

It reminds me of one of my favorite phrases that my mother always used to say about losing things in plain sight

If it were a snake (she would say) --- it would have bit you

Too often our lives become:

Too busy

too complicated

so confusing

that it becomes easy to fail to notice all that is going on around you

A dear friend of mine, who is a pastor in Indiana tells a great story about a time when he was spending a semester of college in Germany. This story took place almost 45 years ago.

He had been having a great time --- but he says he remembers becoming very homesick

During the semester he had to have his appendix removed and he spent quite a bit of time in the hospital

He had the opportunity to visit East Germany (for those of you who don't remember --- this was before the wall separating the East and the West existed and Germany was reunified)

That visit made him long for the USA and home

During a break from school his parents decided to come and visit him

His parents flew into Brussels and Mark had to take the train to meet them

He recalls that he got there a couple of hours after their plane was set to land, so he went directly to the hotel they were staying at to meet them

When he arrived at the hotel he found that they had yet to check in, so he left a note with the front desk that he was going to go across the street to a little cafe and have some breakfast and that they should come and join him when they arrived.

As he turned to head to the cafe --- he saw his mother and father walking into the hotel

Mark says that he dropped what he was doing and ran over and embraced his dad

His dad, so startled by the experience called out:

"Please let go of me --- I am just a tourist --- I just arrived"

His dad failed to recognize who it was that was embracing him

I know --- you are all telling me that story is ridiculous --- that it would never happen --- BUT IT DID

If you remember our Easter Gospel story is virtually identical

Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb early on that first Easter

She finds that the stone which had blocked the tomb had been rolled away

While standing there perplexed she meets a man at the tomb who asks her

"Woman, why are you crying?  Whom do you seek?"

Mary was certain that it was the gardener and so she asks him what has happened to the body of Jesus --- for she wanted to go and prepare the body for burial

Mary FAILED TO RECOGNIZE that the person she was talking to was actually Jesus

But that NEVER happens — and yet the resurrection stories are filled with times where Jesus' disciples FAILED to recognize him.

And even with the life changing resurrection stories we have — we find the disciples in the Gospels all going back to what they used to do — fishing 

Do you think you would recognize Jesus if he came alongside you today?

How would you know it was him?

One year when I was working with the confirmation class, I asked that question, and I loved their answers

They were of course all over the place

But my favorite of all time has to be when one of the students replied:

"That's easy, I would recognize him because his clothes would be old and he’d look funny."

But seriously --- how would you recognize Jesus today?

Frederick Buechner in his book The Magnificent Defeat writes about finding Jesus when we fail to recognize him:

. . . it is precisely at such times as this that Jesus is apt to come, into the very midst of life at its most real and inescapable. Not in a blaze of unearthly light, not in the midst of a sermon, not in the throes of some kind of religious daydream, but . . . at supper time, or walking along a road. This is the element that all the stories about Christ's return to life have in common: Mary waiting at the empty tomb and suddenly turning around to see somebody standing there—someone she thought at first was the gardener; all the disciples except Thomas hiding out in a locked house, and then his coming and standing in the midst; and later, when Thomas was there, his coming again and standing in the midst; Peter taking his boat back after a night at sea, and there on the shore, near a little fire of coals, a familiar figure asking, "Children, have you any fish?"; the two men at Emmaus who knew him in the breaking of the bread. He never approached from on high, but always in the midst, in the midst of people, in the midst of real life and the questions that real life asks. . . . The sacred moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we do not look with more than our eyes, or listen with more than our ears, reveal only . . . the gardener

Somehow we have to open our inner eyes

The eyes that touch our heart

so that we will not just see a stranger, not just see a simple gardener

But so that we might see Jesus

I asked this question — HOW DO WE SEE JESUS TODAY — on my facebook page and the answers that people gave were telling:

Nature — spring flowers — hiking in the mountains

People’s kindness — toward a sister being cared for in a healthcare center

In people who are living with courage to make the world a better place — to bring God’s justice and equality

In a child or grandchild’s budding faith

During World War II a Christian woman in Germany did all that she could do to help save the Jews from persecution (and often death)

Because of her efforts she was arrested by the Nazis and found herself sent off to a concentration camp.

While in the camp she begged the guards to let her hold an Easter service for the other Christians in the camp.

After a great deal of debate she was finally allowed to hold a service --- but was told that it could only last 5 minutes

They spent the five minutes singing hymns and reading the Easter story --- and when the five minutes were over --- the guard came and whisked the prisoners off to their cells

She too was thrown back into her cell --- and the door was slammed behind her

As she lay on her cot in the bare cell --- there was a noise at the window and a guard passed an Easter lily into her cell.

Jesus was real and present in that moment

HOW DO YOU SEE JESUS?

Where do you see Jesus?

Do you miss him, or do you find him in the little things?

One of the things that I am convinced of --- is that Easter was not a one and done experience.

Nor is it just a once a year celebration

Easter is WHENEVER we encounter Jesus.

at the tomb

walking along the road

at the grocery store

at work

in the midst of our family

One of the places that I see Jesus is in the rite of Baptism and the eucharist

I invite you to Open your eyes and see Jesus all around you

In the beauty of creation

And in each other

As many of you know — I have a profound love for “The Holy Lands”

My heart breaks for my Palestinian brothers and sisters who are living in an extreme crisis

My heart breaks for my Israeli brothers and sisters who are seeking peace while their government seeks war

My heart breaks for all people who think guns and bombs are the answers to our problems

Nancy and I were supposed to go back to Israel this past January — obviously we didn’t.

But one of the places I saw Jesus was in the Royal Plaza and Caesar hotels

It was easy to see Jesus in the eyes of the pilgrims we met

The place that startled me was seeing Jesus in the Palestinian and Israeli workers.

These Jewish and Muslim sisters and brothers showed me Jesus every day in the ways that they cared for those pilgrims, and in the ways that they helped me to be a better helper.  

They took me under their wings and loved on me!

THAT WAS JESUS!

Where do you see Jesus?

If you are not sure — open your eyes --- for Jesus is all around you

And if you do see Jesus --- don't keep Jesus to yourself --- share Jesus with as many as you can

Not through words

Through love

The good news --- as we journey through life --- is that the story of Jesus is NEVER ENDING

Easter is everyday

Jesus is always with us --- if we will just open our eyes and embrace his love

Who Do You Love?

John 21:1-17 (NRSV) 

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

This is my favorite resurrection story.  To me it is a powerful story that illustrates the amazing love that Jesus has for us.

This story takes place a few weeks after resurrection day.

In John's gospel, Jesus appears first to Mary, then Peter and the un-named disciple, and then again to Mary who is convinced he is the gardener.

Later that evening he appears to 10 of the disciples who were hiding in a "locked house."

Thomas was not there that evening and says emphatically that he will not beleive unless he can see the wounds on Jesus' body.

And so John tells us that a week later, the disciples --- who are still in Jerusalem and in their locked house --- that Jesus appears to them and invites Thomas to:

"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

And it is here that our story for this morning begins --- how much time has passed since resurrection morning? --- we cannot be sure, but long enough for the disciples to leave Jerusalem and travel the 80 miles or so back to Capernaum.

Remember they would have walked --- so this is a minimum of 4 days, plus since they were being observant they could not have gone the short way through Samaria but would have had to add an extra couple of days to their journey by traveling along the coastal highway or gone up on the other side of the Jordan river.

This is important -- at least two weeks have passed since Resurrection day --- if not more.

The disciples have encountered the risen Jesus on at least two occasions --- but where are they as our story begins?

They have gone back to their day jobs --- Peter and a handful of the disciples have gone back to what they did before they met Jesus --- Fishing.

I want to pause for a second and let that sink in.

I find that fascinating.

Obviously, the resurrection day experiences had not worked their magic on the disciples up to this point.

          They were not out trying to change the world

          They were not trying to defeat Rome

          They were simply trying to survive

In all my travels to Israel --- the site of this story is one of the most powerful to me, and one of my favorite.  There is a small church that celebrates this encounter between Jesus and the disciples, but especially the interchange between Jesus and Peter.

Peter and the boys are out fishing --- and have been out all night when some stranger from the shore suggests that they should be fishing on the opposite side of the boat.

Really?

But they listen and cast their nets to the other side and their nets become full of fish.

          The unnamed disciples proclaims that it is Jesus

                    But the others are not so sure.

          They obviously do not recognize this stranger

Peter jumps in the water, leaving the boat and the fish and rushes to shore. 

          Still not convinced it is Jesus

But as they shared together in a meal --- as they break bread together --- they understood who it was with them (even if they did not recognize him).

And then we get to one of the greatest exchanges in the biblical story

Listen again:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ {Peter} said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time {Jesus} said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ {Peter} said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my  sheep.’ {Jesus} said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because {Jesus} said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And {Peter} said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

What a powerful exchange:  do you --- do you love me more than these?

What is it --- Jesus want to know --- that you really love?

What makes this exchange even more powerful is a nuance in the language that we don't often catch.

In English we have one word for LOVE.

So when we use the word love we can have lots of meanings.

I love the Cubs, I love Meridian Street Church, I love meatloaf.  BUT,

·         I love ice cream and

·         I love Nancy aren't the same

And yet we don't distinguish those "loves" --- we assume the hearer will understand

Ancient Greek did not have this same issue

In Greek there are three main words for love

·         Eros -- erotic love or intimate love

·         Phila --- where we get the word fidelity which means love between friends --- affection

·         Agape --- which means unconditional love

I want you to listen again to this story --- this time with the Greek word for love that is used.

Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you agape me more than these?’ {Peter} said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I phila you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time {Jesus} said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you agape me?’ {Peter} said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I phila you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my  sheep.’ {Jesus} said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you phila me?’ Peter felt hurt because {Jesus} said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And {Peter} said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I phila you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

Did you HEAR that?

Jesus asks Peter for unconditional love --- when Peter is unable to give that kind of love back --- Jesus accepts him for who he is.

I don't think there is a more powerful story in all the bible.

But the important question for us today --- in 2017 --- is what does this story mean for us?

Maybe first we need to try and understand this word AGAPE or UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Unconditional love is a phrase that is thrown out all over the place.

We've heard songs about it, seen it in the movies, heard it talked about on Oprah by relationship experts, and read about it in thousands of self help books.

          But, what is unconditional love?

We all want to feel loved.

We think about it, hope for it, fantasize about it, go to great lengths to achieve it, and feel that our lives are incomplete without it.

The lack of unconditional love is the cause of most of our anger and confusion.

It is no exaggeration to say that our emotional need for unconditional love is just as great as our physical need for air and food.

It is especially unfortunate, then, that most of us have no idea what unconditional love really is, and we prove our ignorance with our horrifying divorce rate, the incidence of alcohol and drug addiction in our country, the violence in our society and schools, as well as our overflowing jails.

Our misconceptions of unconditional love began in early childhood, where we saw that:

when we did all the right things

when we were clean, quiet, obedient and otherwise “good” --- people “loved” us.

They smiled at us and spoke in gentle tones.

But we also saw that when we were “bad,” all those signs of “love” vanished.

In short, we were taught by consistent experience that love was conditional, that we had to in some ways buy “love” from the people around us with our words and our behavior.

What’s wrong with conditional love?

We see it everywhere we look, so what could be wrong with it?

Imagine that every time you paid me fifty dollars, I promised to tell you I loved you.

We could do that all day, but at the end of the day would you feel loved?

No, because you’d know that I “loved” you only because you paid me.

We simply can’t feel fulfilled by love we pay for.

We can feel loved only when it is freely, unconditionally given to us.

The instant we do anything at all to win the approval or respect of other people — with what we say, what we do, how we look — we are paying for the attention and affection we receive, and the truth is we can’t feel genuinely loved.

There’s only one kind of love that can fill us up, make us whole, and give us the happiness we all want: unconditional love.

It is unconditional love that we all seek, and somehow we intuitively realize that anything other than that kind of love isn’t really love at all — it’s an imitation of the real thing.

Unconditional love — true love — is so different from the kind of love most of us have known all our lives:

Unconditional Love is caring about the happiness of another person without any thought for what we might get for ourselves.

It is not Unconditional Love when we love other people for doing what we want them to do.

Under those conditions we’re just paying for love again.

It is clear to me that what God desires of us is unconditional love --- and even when we fail to live up to it --- which we often do --- God's unconditional love remains.

Psalm 136 reminds us that “God’s steadfast love endures forever.”

1 John tells us that “God is love”.

John 3:16

          "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,”

God wants us to love unconditionally

But the challenge is --- most of us create conditions.

I can run the gamut on the conditions we create --- but we do it intentionally and unintentionally all the time.

Unconditional love means loving people even when we disagree with them.

The reason this is so difficult for some is that the United Methodist Church has been struggling with how inclusive we will be with people who are LGBTQI.

We have struggled over these types of issues before --- and not always with a great deal of success.

In the 1840's the church split over racial issues --- and even when we came back together --- we really didn't welcome our black brothers and sisters into full acceptance, instead we created what we called the Central Jurisdiction for our black brothers and sisters which was solely created along racial lines. 

It wasn't until 1968 that we abolished the Central Jurisdiction --- but racial prejudice and segregation have not disappeared in the United Methodist Church.

Now you can argue that it is not the same issue --- and you would be right, BUT . . .

All I know is what Jesus told me to do:  "Feed his sheep."

Bishop Elaine Stanovsky wrote Friday on behalf of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops:

The Judicial Council ruled today on challenges to the election of an out gay bishop in The United Methodist Church. The ruling is long and complicated, reinforcing the reality that the church is not of one mind about inclusion of LGBTQI people and sexual practices outside heterosexual marriage. We thank the Judicial Council for allowing the Commission on A Way Forward to do its work. We have said from the beginning that we trust the commission to find new ways for United Methodists of varying perspective to live and serve God together.

Karen Oliveto, is still a bishop of The United Methodist Church, assigned to the Mountain Sky Area, with all the rights, privileges, responsibilities and protections that every clergy person enjoys. The decision refuted the claim that bishops have the right and responsibility to declare a candidate for election as a bishop ineligible without due process.

On the other hand, the Judicial Council expanded the definition of “self-avowed practicing homosexual,” making it clear that the church is still not open to full LGBTQI inclusion.

While the Judicial Council ordered a review of Bishop Oliveto’s qualifications for ministry, the Western Jurisdiction is already in the process of responding to complaints that were filed after her election. This process will continue according to the provisions of our Book of Discipline.

Bishop Bob Hoshibata from the Desert Southwest Conference wrote this yesterday

I encourage us to remember that at the center of this contentious debate is a person who has been called by God to proclaim God’s love to all persons in the name of Jesus Christ. Bishop Oliveto graciously gives unselfishly of herself as a pastor and as a colleague bishop and I give thanks for her courageous faith and her strong caring leadership.

Although the Judicial Council’s ruling does not immediately nullify Bishop Oliveto’s episcopacy, it does in other statements make it clear that our Church does not yet support full inclusion of LGBTQI persons. Because we are not all of one mind, I call us all to pause for moments of reflection and prayer, breathing deeply to take in God’s spirit. Just as the breath of air gives life and strength to the body; let God’s spirit give us spiritual strength and reassurance that God loves you. For those who have been marginalized and hurt repeatedly by The United Methodist Church, especially LGBTQI persons, I repeat: God loves you. Even when you feel that your Church doesn’t love you, God loves you.

I am praying that we will find the courage to live together following the words of Jesus:

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).”

I long for the day when the entire United Methodist Church will understand that we are called to love all persons. I will never stop leading our Conference in proclaiming that love. God’s love given abundantly and freely to all persons is a model for us to emulate in our lives, in our congregations, and in our communities. I continue to hope and pray that we will live and work together honoring the richness of God’s diversity so that even if we do not think alike, we will love each other. Let us be inspired by John Wesley, who asked:

“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?  Without all doubt, we may.”

I don't have an easy answer --- All I know, is I hear Jesus ask me: ‘Steve, do you agape me more than these?’ (hold up book of Discipline and bible)

I try --- but I know that I often fail in loving God fully and loving my neighbor as myself.  Too often I put conditions on that love.

Scott Bader-Saye reminds us:

“Following Jesus will mean surrendering the power that masquerades as security in order to love the neighbor and welcome the stranger. It will mean avoiding the safe path in order to pursue the good.”

I want to close with these words from the late Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, then the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.

That is the garden that the master gardener is calling me into, a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.

And I pray that someday I will be able to say; when Jesus asks me again and again and again --- "Steve do you Agape me?" 

I pray that I will be able to say --- Lord, look at my life --- you know I not only loved you as a friend, but I strove to love you and all of your creation with unconditional love.  Amen.