21 April 2009

On the Journey

                            The Risen Christ—we never know where we will meet him!

              The resurrection “memories” captured by the gospel writers confront us with a new reality—we never know exactly when and where we will encounter our Risen Lord! We can be walking alongside him, talking with him, and not recognize him. He may appear in a room with the doors bolted. He comes and goes as he chooses, seldom with any advance warning.

              Two followers of Jesus are walking home, shoulders hanging low, sadly talking about the events that had so recently transpired in Jerusalem. They are unaware a stranger is now walking along beside them eavesdropping on their conversation. The stranger inquires about the nature of their discussion. They explain how they had hoped that this Jesus of Nazareth was the one who had come to redeem Israel. Their hopes had been shattered, they explained, when the chief priests and rulers had sentenced this Jesus to death and crucified him. Nevertheless, that was not all, some of the women among them had gone to the tomb that very morning, found it empty, and encountered a vision of angels telling them that Jesus was alive. Hearing this word, some of the others had run to the tomb and found it empty, but they saw no vision of angels.

After listening to their meandering story, the stranger interrupts them and proceeds to show them from the scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer such things. While the stranger spoke, their hearts were strangely warmed.

              Evening falls on this journey of seven miles. The two prepare to stop in the village. The stranger appears intent upon going on. They invite the stranger to stay with them. When they sit down for dinner, the stranger breaks the bread and blesses it. It was only then that they recognize Jesus, and just as soon as they know who he is, he vanishes.

              Yes, the Risen Christ appears, and then he is gone! You can talk with him for hours along the road and never know you are talking to him. He can meet you near the empty tomb, and you jump to the conclusion that he is the gardener. You can be out fishing and discover he has prepared breakfast for you on the beach. He can meet you and say, “Peace,” as if he had never died. He can take you for a walk along the beach asking questions that make you uncomfortable. Yes, you just never know when and where the Risen Lord will turn up.

              I think this is the most troubling revelation that accompanies Easter. We want to know where God is. If we had our way, Jesus would stay in one place, so we could see and talk with him whenever we desired. We would prefer to find him always in the church. Yet, even in church, we don’t know in advance which hymn or what words or what prayer suddenly makes him present, demanding our lives.

              Once we have left the church, we never know around which corner we might bump into him. If we dare to look into the face of that frazzled stranger, will we find him? Jesus is always among the children. You can be sure if these little ones are hungry, sick, hurting, or alone—he is there! Wherever people are assaulted by grief, he is there. If you go into the prisons, he is there. Most troubling, we find him even among his enemies and our enemies.

              As twenty-first century believers, we need to learn to live with his going and coming. Most puzzling is that we, too, must be going and coming to encounter him along the way. This is what makes being and becoming church so difficult. We never know when Jesus will meet us, even in the midst of a worship service. He has carried us away while singing the first hymn. At times, we keep pouring our hearts out to him in prayer long after the amen. There have been times when we knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the words proclaimed were for our ears alone. Time after time during the invitational hymn, we have wrestled with his commanding voice.

              Beyond worship, the Church, the faithful Church, refuses to leave us alone. The church keeps setting the table every month, inviting us to meet Jesus among the homeless. The church is always offering us invitations to befriend children, to follow Jesus to distant places, to give some of our money to help the weak, to respond with compassion to folks we don’t even know on the other side of the world, or simply jot a few words on a card. The Church knows Jesus will appear when we least expect him.

              Yet, what makes this Jesus who refuses to be nailed down so difficult, is that he keeps intruding into our lives beyond worship and the church. We hear his voice in a question our daughter asks. Jesus shows up in the middle of our workday. He becomes troublesome while working out a business contract. When we think we have escaped him, he shows up asking us if that is what we really want to do with our lives.

              Yes, it was nice to gaze at him as an infant lying in a manger filled with straw. Even with the horror of it all, we managed to steal a glance at him nailed to the cross. However, now that he is the Risen Christ, we never know when he will show up, and we never know what he will ask of us. We are not safe in worship, in the church, on the street, or minding our own business. He comes and goes, but he rarely comes without inviting us to go somewhere with him.

This is the challenge of loving a Risen Saviour—recognizing him when he comes and going with him when he calls. Let us pray for eyes to see him! Let us pray for the faith to go with him!jamie