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You Are Witnesses of These Things

By the Rev. Darren Miner

Gospel Reading

Today is the third Sunday of Easter. And yes, even though you might have a hard time finding any chocolate bunnies for sale, it’s still Easter! And it will continue to be Easter till we reach the feast of Pentecost on May 23. As you may have noticed, there are various ways that we mark this joyous season in our worship. The invitatory psalm at the start of Morning Prayer is replaced with a special Easter anthem. The Acts of the Apostles are read in place of the Hebrew Scriptures at the first reading. And Alleluias are inserted at the dismissal. During this joyous season, we pause for 50 days to ponder a single day, the Day of Resurrection, and to consider its consequences for us as disciples of Jesus.

That explains why, for the third Sunday in a row, we hear a story from that first Easter Day. It’s kind of like the movie Groundhog Day, in which Bill Murray’s character experiences the same day over and over again till he learns his lesson. Likewise, we will move on from Easter Day only when we have learned all that we need to learn from that eventful day.

The Gospel story we just heard from Luke takes place late in the evening of the Day of Resurrection. The tomb has been found empty. The women have conversed with angels. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus have met the Risen Lord and broken bread with him. And Saint Peter has had an encounter with the Lord (although, for some reason, Luke doesn’t give any details). The two men who encountered Jesus in Emmaus have just returned to Jerusalem to report to the disciples that the Lord is risen. And at that very moment, the Risen Lord makes yet another appearance, this time to all eleven of the disciples at once. (For obvious reasons, Judas Iscariot is absent from the gathering.)

Luke’s account is basically the same story we heard last week from John’s Gospel, but with some noticeable differences in detail. For example, Luke spares Thomas the embarrassment of being the only doubting disciple. In today’s account, all the disciples display doubt (as well as joy) at Jesus’ appearance in their midst. And so Jesus invites them all to touch him, so as to verify that he is not a ghost. Then, as the final proof of his physicality, he asks for some food, something no ghost would do.

Now as both a vegetarian and a preacher, I wish that the disciples had given Jesus a chunk of bread, instead of a piece of broiled fish. Then, I could expound at great length on the eucharistic symbolism of the shared bread. As it stands, I am at a loss to explain the spiritual significance of the broiled fish. So I won’t even try!

Jesus proceeds to teach the disciples, opening their minds to the full meaning of the scriptures, with a particular focus on the prophesied fate of the Messiah. Jesus ends the lecture with a homework assignment of sorts, saying, “…repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in the Messiah’s name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

And what exactly is expected of a witness? To testify! And clearly the disciples did testify to what they had experienced during their time with Jesus of Nazareth, from the day that he called them to leave their old life behind to the day that he rose from the dead and commissioned them to proclaim the Good News to the whole world. They passed on their stories of Jesus to later generations, lest they be forgotten.

But what about now? Who is there to witness to the world that God walked among us as a man, died on a cross, and rose from the dead, so that our sins might be forgiven and we might know eternal life? The eleven disciples commissioned by Jesus in that room in Jerusalem are long gone. Who is there to give testimony then? I’m hoping you already know the answer. But just in case you don’t, I’ll answer my own question. You are! You were commissioned at your baptism to testify to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

So when the final Alleluias are shouted out at the end of today’s service and the concluding Grace has been said, I expect you, and the Risen Lord expects you, to do your bounden duty: to share your experiences of Jesus Christ and of his life-saving Truth with your family, with your friends, and even with the occasional stranger. For like those eleven disciples, “you are witnesses of these things.”

Amen.