14 Apr SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2024
At least once a week, I meet someone who doubts whether there’s life after death or fears that eternal life will bear no resemblance to this life. I sympathize with them, especially regarding that second concern, that eternal life will bear no resemblance to this life, or that it won’t be similar enough to keep us from missing things we may have enjoyed on earth.
I mean, if there’s no death in heaven, what will there be for hunters to kill? What kind of steaks will we put on the grill? Will there be four seasons? Just how will God manage to suit the desires of everyone who dies and fulfill their unique and personal ideas about what heaven should be like?
Regarding whether there will be life after death, whether we’ll be recognized as our former selves or enjoy a meal with friends or family, I think today’s gospel reading offers some great reassurance. The good news is, “Jesus himself stands in the flesh among his disciples as an embodied spirit. He inhabits a resurrected body that once experienced cardiac arrest and respiratory failure which resulted in his death, as will we. After death, he spoke words of peace and offered real comfort to those he loved that was both heard and received. Sounds pretty good so far, right?
Jesus knows us very well. In response to his disciples becoming startled and terrified, he asks them point blank, “Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts,” as if to say, “I know you’re afraid and that your hearts are unsure, but there’s really no need for fear or doubt.” Jesus is pleading for an opportunity to reassure his disciples further, to reassure us.
Jesus is pleading for an opportunity to reassure….us.
“Here, look at my hands and feet. See that it is myself.” I imagine that his hands and feet would have borne the scars of crucifixion, but been healed otherwise. For a disciple to see the hands and feet of Jesus would be like any of us laying eyes on someone we love. We would recognize their features, the distinctive look of those particular hands or feet, the shape of the fingernails and knuckles, the condition and color of skin and veins, the characteristic size, smooth or rough texture, spots or no spots, scars and all.
Just recently I had an awful itch in the middle of my back where I couldn’t reach. So I asked Steve if he’d scratch it for me since he was handy and usually doesn’t mind. But this particular time there was something about the way his hand felt upon my back that triggered a distant memory.
I felt a familiar sensation on my skin in the middle of my back. I thought back to spending the night at my grandmothers. There I was wearing one of her spare nighties. Moments earlier I had asked, “Nanny, will you please rub my back while I count to a hundred?” She said, “Okay. If you roll over, shut your little eyes, and go to sleep for me.”
After about fifteen minutes she said, “Did you count to one hundred yet?” To which I replied, “Not yet. I’m still counting.” Of course, I’d forgotten to start counting in the first place. She would lovingly continue to rub and scratch my back until I was relaxed enough to fall asleep.
There was something familiar about the way Steve’s fingernails grazed over my bare skin that day which felt exactly like the hand of my grandmother. The sensation only lasted a moment, but it instantly took me back to a moment in time when as a child I lay upon a sofa bed mattress pulled out just for me after my grandmother and I took had taken off the two round bolster pillows and big red couch cushions together and after I watched her tuck in the sheets and blanket corners, then lay a clean rug down to cover my feet pouring tender loving care into every motion.
I can still remember the shape of my grandmother’s small feet and toes pulled together to a point because they were donned in heavy flesh toned stockings held up by garters. When we’d head out anywhere, she would slip those feet into black leather lace-up shoes with a small heel. I remember how she did most things, and especially the look of her hard working hands.
We will never forget the features of those we dearly love. They will always be distinctly recognizable. The curve of their smile or characteristic wrinkles, the certain shade of their eye or hair color, the shape of their nose, lips, or ears, their build and characteristic marks upon each limb or body parts.
No longer would Jesus’ disciples grieve in silence. He was no longer missing and out of sight. At present, they were being called upon to identify the resurrected body of Christ and realize for themselves that he was no longer dead. His voice confirmed the truth and changed their thoughts, “See that it is myself.” Here, Scripture could not have been written any more plain and simple.
Hearing and seeing this, how can there be any doubt that we too will be recognized as ourselves? Jesus is alive after death as himself. In addition to this testimony, the apostle John writes, “What we will be has not yet been revealed. What we know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.”
Hear it once again. “What we will be has not yet been revealed, but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” And Romans 6:4 states, “When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father,” (CEB).
I think it’s plain and clear that we will share in the experience of Jesus and his disciples. That we will see loved ones as themselves and we will be ourselves, as Jesus was himself. We will recognize the same cast of characters that we once knew and loved. We will call them by their given names, the title or nicknames determined by the type of relationship we had with them such as: Mom, Dad, Nana, Grandpa, Sis, Big Brother or Baby Brother, Auntie, Uncle, Sweetheart, Snookums, Babydoll, or BFF.
Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” He said, “Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; see that it is myself. Touch and see,” and he showed them. He asked for something to eat. They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
What more evidence do we need? Jesus made a conscious choice for his disciples to be God’s best credible witnesses. He chose them/us specifically for this task: To proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sin in Jesus’ name. To whom? To all nations, starting in the town closest to where the disciples live.
But if everything we’ve read is really true, why are thoughts regarding death and even resurrection still so startling and terrifying? Because to us, they are yet unknown. Their mysteries have yet to be revealed. We have not seen or heard with our own eyes and ears the sound of a loved one’s voice. We have not had the privilege of touching them since they departed this life.
So we wait with hope and anticipation for the day when we will see them face to face. Then we will no longer fear or doubt. We will know them as we once did, but in a new way, just as Jesus’ disciples came to discover that spirits and ghosts do not, in fact, have flesh and bones. Then we, like the disciples, may still have cause to wonder because of joy and disbelief.
In heaven, we may look forward to sharing meals again. And I suppose for those who like to cook, they’ll be able to cook, and for those who like to sit down and place their order, angels will do the table waiting. To be clear, meat will have to be sourced through some other means than hunting, farming or fishing, but for those to whom God has given a taste for it, it’ll have to be on the menu.
Scripture is proof that God works hard to try and impress certain truths upon the human race. Two of those truths are these: That God is consistent according to God’s purpose. And second, that God always aims to completely fulfill a plan set in motion long long ago.
Listen to how clearly these two truths are stated. Everything, everything written about Jesus ties into the earliest communication between God and people. What was spoken about through Moses and the law, through prophets of old, and through the psalms describes God. They demonstrate a consistent relationship driven by purpose: so that we will recognize God. That’s the key feature: that we will recognize God as our Creator and Sustainer, our Redeemer and Companion through every stage of our existence, on earth and in heaven.
Jesus explains how this is possible by telling us that he is able to open our minds to understand Scripture. This is important because Scripture is one way we come to know God. Another way we come to know God is through experiential knowledge gained through our senses. When I asked a patient paralyzed from the neck down where he saw God, he answered, “I see God everyday in people. In the faces of my family, in the people who care for me when I’m hospitalized, in the fact that God sent you to come into my room and talk with me today.” He understands God as an embodied spirit with flesh and blood. Let us pray.
Lord, we need to gain perspective of all things from start to finish, to see how only you can make a happy ending from a rough beginning or turn what seems like a tragic finale into something fantastic beyond belief. We know that you have much more to reveal to us, so open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to better see, hear, believe and understand you and your Word. In your holy name we pray, Amen.