8 April 2009

On the Journey

                            Jesus—is found among his friends!

              When I wrote this column last week, I explored the loneliness of Jesus during his week of passion. I emphasized that he was alone before the religious authorities, alone before Pilate, alone as he suffered, alone as he died. It is difficult to read the description of Jesus’ suffering in the gospels without noticing his aloneness.

              Yet, when you take a step back to look at the events of the week of passion, you see that Jesus chose to be with his friends—his disciples. These followers had been with Jesus for approximately three years. Immediately after his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus had begun to call disciples. He began his enlistment of followers along the Sea of Galilee. Peter and Andrew, James and John left their boats and nets to accept his invitation to fish for men. Levi or Matthew abandoned his lucrative tax collecting position with Rome to go with a carpenter/rabbi of Nazareth who had no place to call home. We know very little about the others, but they all left positions, homes, and families to be with Jesus.

              I have always been impressed with the stories of Jesus and his disciples. It is a story of highs and lows. In one moment, these fledgling followers of Jesus demonstrate great faith. Yet, in the blink of an eye, they may be seized by paralyzing doubts. Take just one event, though I confess a very notorious event, in the life of Peter, the Rock. Jesus invites Peter to come to him on the stormy sea, walking through the waves. Simon clamors over the side of the boat and goes to meet Jesus. He is confidently trusting Jesus. Yet, when he realizes where he is, the rising waves swallow his faith, and he sinks like a rock. Yes, the disciples were men and women of great promise and glaring weaknesses.

              It is touching to see how committed Jesus was to being with his disciples the last week of his life. The most intimate encounters and conversations we have between Jesus and his disciples occurred during this time. The gospel writers tell us that Jesus wanted to eat the Passover meal with his disciples, and he arranged to secure an upper room in the holy city for this time alone with them. John takes five chapters to record the interaction of Jesus with his followers in the upper room on that night. Significant when you realize that John gives his full account of the life of Jesus in twenty-one chapters.

              Jesus wanted to be with his disciples, but that night must have required extreme discipline on his part. His enemies were ready to spring their trap to arrest him. Judas had the thirty pieces of silver in his pocket. Yet, Jesus continued to serve and teach his friends with gentleness that denied the agony that awaited him. He washed their feet. He emphasized his new commandment—“love one another as I have loved you.” Anticipating the bewilderment that will engulf them in a few hours, he attempted to comfort them and assure them of his love. Knowing they would experience bitter disappointment when they failed him in his greatest hour, he assured them that denial, betrayal, and desertion lay ahead. He did not judge them, but he sought to prepare them. They believed they would stand firm. Jesus knew they would be scattered like sheep.

              Easter morning offers us new insight into Jesus’ commitment to his followers. The Risen Christ appears only to those who had believed in him. Risen from the dead, Jesus does not appear to terrorize Pilate or Caiaphas or Herod Antipas or the soldiers who tortured him. Jesus appears before his band of followers still huddled in fear for their lives in the upper room with the doors bolted and locked. In fact, as far as I can tell, though I may have forgotten something, the Risen Christ only appears to three people alone and not in a crowd believers—to Mary Magdalene in the garden, Saul in a vision, and to John in the revelation.

              Given this reality, is it any wonder that those of us who desire to believe in Jesus Christ show up on Easter Sunday morning.  Somehow, our souls know that if the Risen Christ is to appear, he will appear first to his friends. He will burst through our doors and call us to faith in him. If we are like Thomas, filled with doubts, when he calls us to touch his wounds, we will fall to our knees declare him Lord and Saviour. If we are like Peter, choking on our denial, Jesus will call us to love him, to tend his lambs, to feed his sheep. If we, in recent days and years, have gone back to living as if we had never met him, he will call us again to leave it all and follow him. Do not make the mistake of Judas and give up before the news of resurrection reaches you. Jesus will be as gentle with us on Easter morning as he was with his first friends who are so much like us.

              So, I invite you to allow the longings of your soul to lead you to Immanuel to worship on Easter morning. Here, among the friends of Jesus, you may see him with eyes of faith. You may experience profound love. Here, you may discover the liberation that comes through forgiveness. Here, among his friends, some believing and some doubting, you may receive the gift of joy that dispels sorrow, the gift of hope that shatters despair, the gift of life that triumphs over death, and the gift of peace that overcomes fear. Come and see—see Jesus on Easter morning, for he will be wherever two or three have gathered in his Name. Not only on Easter morning, but every time believers gather to wait for him! Peace.jamie