AFTER EASTER

Sermon for 16 April 2023

I spent Eastern with my sister and her family in Missouri. I try to go back every Spring for her birthday and in the Fall for deer season. This year Easter happened, but I didn’t want to miss her birthday, so I went to church with her family. She turned 82 this year. She reminds me that we are both far too old to worry about dying young. She told me that two years ago, so I wrote her a song that said the same thing. We run with the big dogs at the head of the pack; we don’t slow down and never look back. Cute song>

You may recall I wasn’t quite finished speaking about the parables of Jesus, but Easter is the most significant event in Christianity, so I took a hiatus from the parables. Christmas gets the most press, but Easter is what defines Christianity. Two weeks ago on Palm Sunday, I spoke about the events in Christ’s life the week before His crucifixion and resurrection. Now I would like to talk about what was happening with Jesus and the Apostles during the days and weeks following the resurrection. Unless something comes up, I will return to the parables when I speak again the first Sunday in May. There are a few found only in Luke that interest me. For this week, however, I want to consider those forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. We know it was forty days because Luke tells us so in Acts. We know the Risen Christ appeared repeatedly, but much of the story must be pieced together from the bits and pieces given to us in the Gospels. Even then, we must apply a bit of logic to fill in between the lines.

Two weeks ago, Jesus rolled the stone away and did what He told His followers He would do. He rose from the grave. He demonstrated the reality as well as the promise of eternal life. Then what? Matthew and Mark are both very brief. They both have a single paragraph containing the Great Commission. You all know what that is. Jesus told the Disciples to make followers of all people in the world. All four Gospels have the same instructions, but Matthew has nothing else about the Risen Christ. The few days and weeks following the crucifixion had to have been terrifying for those closest to Christ. Think about it. Our leader has just been convicted on trumped up charges and executed in the most painful manner possible. Who will be next? Peter, leader of the group (Jesus’s chief of staff) was too afraid to even admit he knew Him. Matthew had been a tax collector; a member of the establishment who, in their eyes, had turned traitor, and turned his back on the basic values of the establishment. I think it likely that he is hiding out in a very deep hole. Wouldn’t you be under the circumstances? Matthew had much to lose. The Book of John mentions three meetings between Christ and His followers. Matthew isn’t mentioned at any of these meetings.

Mark adds a quarter of a page wherein he describes the women who discover the empty tomb and talks about Jesus’s meeting with two men while walking in the country. I assume that to be the same walk to Emmaus that Luke describes in some detail. Much of what we know about the Risen Christ is found only in the gospel of John. Recall that John was the only Disciple allowed to be in the courtyard and observe the trial of Jesus. He was also the only Disciple known to be at the crucifixion. He had to have been connected somehow to feel safe when the others were hiding out. He had to have been a relative of someone in a high place.

John describes the meetings in the upper room, one without and another with Thomas, then John skips three or four weeks to a group of Disciples fishing in Lake Galilee. Once again, Matthew isn’t mentioned. The group had fished all night without catching anything until Jesus told them to try the other side of the boat. They caught 153 big fish in one haul of the net! John then tells of cooking and eating the fish over a fire of hot coals. They didn’t throw any back, and there were too many fish for a small group. I must assume this was sort of a campout. We know Jesus told the Disciples to make believers of all nations. All the Gospels say so, but nothing is said about any instructions or preparations for this task. I picture this fishing trip is kind of a training camp. Lake Galilee is 40 miles north of Jerusalem, so the faithful would have felt relatively safe from the temple police.

We don’t have a copy of the training syllabus, but we have a glimpse in the discussion between Peter and Jesus. This exchange is only found in the book of John. I wonder why Mark didn’t include it, as he was the scribe for Peter. Do you think maybe Peter was still embarrassed? Maybe Peter wasn’t proud of the questions Jesus asked him. John never hesitated to poke at Peter and was pleased to relate a story that Peter would just as soon have kept quiet. When you think about it, however, the story could apply to all of us. Jesus turns to Peter and asks if Peter loves Him. Recall it has been only a short time since Peter had denied knowing Christ. Christ didn’t ask the question to reassure Himself. He asks the question so Peter can say it out loud. “Yes. You know I love you.” Peter is also reaffirming himself, “I will never waiver in my faith again.” Notice that it is only after Peter had committed himself does Jesus give His instructions. “Feed my lambs.” What does that mean? Then Jesus repeats the question and the answer before instructing, “Take care of my sheep.” This instruction is a bit different than “feed my Lambs”. Then a third time and Jesus instructs Peter to, “Feed my Sheep.” These instructions are not the same. They are different parts of Peter’s commission. I remember my first coach telling our team that good football teams are made up of average kids who do what they are told. Winning teams are made up of average kids who do what they’re told as hard as they can. Championship teams are made up of average kids who do what they are told, as hard as they can, every time. Three different instructions at three levels to make up one lesson.

We have to assume Christ had similar talks with each attendee at the camp. Each one was charged with specific duties that meshed with the talents of each individual. You don’t teach offensive guards how to throw a pass. Peter’s assignment was to care for the flock. I wonder what John, Andrew, Thomas and the others were assigned? We know they scattered all over the known world. Thomas went all the way to India. Mary Magdalen went to France and established a convent. Remember Joseph of Arimathea? He was the guy who provided the tomb for Jesus to be buried and may have been at the camp. He had a lot to lose and good reason to be hiding out. He eventually traveled north with Mary Magdalene, but didn’t stop with her in France. Instead, he went all the way to England. The faithful scattered out, each with his own assignment. They were now prepared to carry out the Great Commission. Then and only then, after each one had their instructions did Jesus ascend into heaven to be with His Father.

Jesus left them with their individual assignments and with a promise. They were told to go back to the place from which they fled, back into danger, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were no longer afraid. They were no longer terrified of the authorities. Send me in coach, I’m ready. Christianity was born and spread around the world by average guys who did what they were told, as hard as they could, every time.

Pray with me. Dear Lord, we are ready to spread your word. Guide me. Send me in. Send me to do you will.