Luke 24:36-48
May 7, 2000
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.
Ghost Stories
When I was little, I was fascinated over scary ghost stories. I loved the Wherewolf, Dracula, and Frankenstein. How about Ghostbusters and Casper, the friendly ghost? I used to take the TV Guide and circle all the scary movies and science fiction movies and try to watch them all.
I would curl up on the sofa with a blanket and cover my eyes when it got too scary. My mother would yell at me and tell me not to watch those ghost stories. One of the things I remember about my mother is the way she helps me not to be afraid. It’s probably one of those things that she learned when she was a little girl in China from her own mother. You see whenever I was scared, she would grab my ear lobe and say, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.” Have you heard that before?
With my mother reaching out to me and in some very small way such as grabbing hold of my ear lobe, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Maybe it was her touch or her voice reassuring me that I didn’t need to be afraid, but it settled my fears and I was okay again.
Disciples’ Fear
On this third Sunday of Easter, we are still amazed over what happened on Easter morning. The sightings of Jesus at the tomb, on the road to Emmaus, at the sea of Tiberias, and in hideaway rooms generated ghost stories for the disciples to talk about.
Matthew said there was an earthquake at the tomb and when the angel descended down from heaven it was like lightning. And his clothes were white as snow. The guards shook and became like dead men.
In Mark, after seeing the empty tomb, the women “fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
And here in Luke’s gospel, while the disciples and the women were still talking about the fascinating events that just happened, it was like telling ghost stories with each other. Suddenly, Jesus himself stood among them. Luke said, “They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost.”
The days after the resurrection of Jesus were a scary time for the disciples and women. After all, would you want to see a man whom you had betrayed and forsaken, three days after your betrayal had helped to take his life?
They might have said, “Jesus has come back from the dead, and is he mad!”
But Jesus does not appear to be angry. Rather, his first words to them are, “Peace be with you.” He came back to them, bringing them peace, reassurance, but mostly himself. By coming back himself, he changed the ghost stories that have been spreading about him into God’s story.
At first, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost. No one recognized Jesus at first. To prove that he was not a ghost, not some figment of their imaginations, he urges them to touch his hands and feet, the very hands and feet that had been so recently and cruelly abused in the crucifixion. They needed physical evidence, and he gave it to them.
“A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have,” says the risen Christ.
When some still disbelieved and wondered, Jesus asked them if they had some fish. They did. He ate the fish, then he opened the Scriptures and taught them how his life fulfills the prophets and the psalms.
By letting the disciples touch him and eat with him, Jesus erased from their eyes all the terror of a ghost story, all the horror of the “night of the living dead,” all the fears of disbelief. Jesus changed the ghost stories into God’s story because he is resurrected from the dead in body and spirit. It is like Jesus touched their ear lobes and said, “Don’t be afraid.”
Body of Christ
The first disciples saw and touched and ate with the risen Christ. They met Jesus in the flesh not as a ghost.
Today we as Christians are also meeting Christ. In fact, we have become Christ’s physical body in the world. We call ourselves the church, “The Body of Christ.” And as Christ’s disciples, we sometimes find ourselves huddled together not knowing who we are or what to do next.
But just like the days after the resurrection, Christ comes and stands among us. He comes back to us, speaks to us, gives us what we need to believe. Then he explains the Scriptures to us.
As the body of Christ, we gather together every Sunday and do three simple human acts to recognize Jesus in the world.
1. We retell God’s gospel story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
When Christ appeared to his disciples, he reminded them about how the “Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” We tell this same gospel story every Sunday.
We should never be embarrassed or afraid to share how out of God’s love for his world that God gave his only Son Jesus to die for us so that we may live. We are often moved by stories of heroism and courage when someone sacrifices his life for someone else. Just imagine something way bigger and more encompassing than that. The whole world is saved by Christ because of the sacrificial love of God on the cross.
When the body of Christ gathers together, we retell Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
2. As the Body of Christ, we interpret God’s story in the context of Scripture.
Listen to what Jesus said, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” What happened to Jesus on the cross and the spectacular events that happened on Easter morning were not coincidences. They just didn’t happen!
But rather, Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection were a part of God’s divine plan. If we were to only understand these events as scary moments, the disciples would have remained afraid and horrified. They may never have developed courage to preach the good news of Christ. The church would not have come about. And probably we would not be here today.
As Jesus opened the Scriptures to the disciples, we are doing this right now. We too are no longer afraid because we can see now that everything Jesus said has now come true. When the world looks dark and gloomy, we are naturally scared. But when we believe that Christ has come into our frightened world and conquered death forever, nothing can scare us anymore.
3. The final act that we do as the Body of Christ is that we break bread together.
When Jesus met the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the way they finally recognized who the stranger was is when Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
So once again, as some of the disciples were still disbelieving and still wondering whether to believe that Jesus is not a ghost but resurrected, he used food to show them. Jesus said, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. No ghost would have the physical body to eat broiled fish!
When we come to worship on the first Sunday of every month like we are doing today, we take bread, bless it and eat it. Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it helps to strengthen our faith. We like the first disciples are still witnessing in the presence of Christ, how the Risen Lord is not a ghost but resurrected from the dead and is alive!
Resurrection Proof
Do you still need proof to believe that Jesus Christ is risen?
What is a resurrected body like? Why didn’t Jesus’ own disciples recognize him immediately once he was raised? What is the meaning of all this for us here, now, and in our future? Jesus was present to his disciples. How is he present to us? How is someone who has died and is raised present to us?
These may still be some of your scary questions that make the crucifixion and resurrection a ghost story.
But the proof of the story is that Jesus’ disciples had also been resurrected from being a disordered, disbelieving group of frightened followers to becoming courageous witnesses to the great truth of the resurrection.
The proof of the story is that this church that has existed for 120 years continues to preach God’s salvation story to generation after generation believing that someday Christ will return.
The proof of the story is that our generation of First Chinese Baptist Church members has the faith and vision to proclaim loud and clear on the corner of Waverly Place and Sacramento Street that our mission is not yet complete. With God’s story of the good news, nothing such as retrofitting and renovation scare us from being God’s witnesses in the world.
The proof of the story is that when the church is called the Body of Christ, we are Christ’s presence in the world. If you want to experience the risen Christ, come here to church. When we come to the Lord’s table and celebrate the presence of the resurrected Christ among his people, we believe that he is alive!
Some Skin On
There’s a story about a little girl who was scared at night. She cried out for her mother to come. When she did, her mother tried to comfort her daughter. At first, she tried to comfort her by telling her about a theological concept.
“Don’t be afraid dear, God will be with you.”
But then the daughter said, “I know that Mommy, but I want somebody with some skin on.”
Doesn’t that speak for all of us? The concept of God is a wonderful thing. But it is most comforting in those times when we are scared that the one who can help is someone with “skin on.”
The risen Christ said, “A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” He showed them his hands and feet. And he ate broiled fish right in front of them.
With some skin on, the crucifixion and the resurrection are not scary stories anymore, but they are God’s story of the good news that the Messiah is alive.
My mother’s little practice of grabbing my ear lobe is a symbol that when we are scared about life, God in the physical person of Jesus Christ invites us to touch him and to eat with him so that we may believe.
Let us come to the Lord’s table and celebrate the presence of the resurrected Christ as his people, the church, the body of Christ in the world.
Let us pray.
Living God, we are no longer afraid for you have risen and everything you taught us through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ has come true and fulfilled. Bless us and reassure us to live out our discipleship with courage and witness. In the name of Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.