We have reached the end of Holy Week. There are not only appointed texts for Easter morning but also for the evening of Easter. The appointed gospel for tonight is Luke 12:13-49. It is the account of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and his subsequent appearance to the disciples in Jerusalem.
The texts talk about Jesus explaining the scriptures and how the spoke of him. The text also talks about Jesus opening the minds of the disciples so that they could understand the scriptures.
How about you? Do you have a handle on everything that has led up to this high holy day of Easter? Do you have a sufficient grasp on all of the relevant scriptures? For me, I welcome Jesus to keep opening them up to me by the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Will you set a welcome mat for visitations from the Holy Spirit?
Peace,
Karl
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Our scriptures (the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament) span many generations, many cultures, many locations and many source languages. We can and should study them. We should welcome others around the table with more developed understandings, with differing understandings of how scripture can be taken into our lives and we should avail ourselves of opportunities to learn. Our postures can be like that of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha fumes, like Nicodemus seeking Jesus in the evening and like the disciples asking the unrevealed Jesus to stay for dinner. There are times and opportunities to afford ourselves of the opening and comprehension of scripture. This is good and salutary.
I find, at times, wondering about the parts of the stories that were left on the editing room floor. We have the birth of Jesus and escaping from Herod, we then skip until an upstart at age twelve Jesus is impressing those in the Temple and then we jump to Jesus in his thirties beginning his 3-year public ministry. I would have greatly appreciated a little more back story about Jesus' formative years and his voyage through puberty into young adulthood and beyond. There are some apocryphal bits that offer a few stories but they seem to add more confusion and don't shed any real light--hence their exclusion from the canonical scriptures. Given we take Jesus to be fully human (and fully divine) I would love some insight into how he did what is so confusing, troubling and full of regrets for many of us--growing out of the larval stage of being human.
But I find our gospel passage for tonight even more frustrating. Jesus started with Moses and the prophets and explained what all the scriptures said about himself. Would it have killed the two on the road with the help of the Holy Spirit to capture some of that teaching? Even a Cliff notes version would be beyond helpful. After the two ran back to Jerusalem Jesus again appears and opens the minds of all the disciples so that they could understand the scriptures. Again, the gathered crew and the Holy Spirit seemed to have neglected distilling the revelation into a sharable form. I am less than pleased.
I don't think or believe God is too concerned with my critique. God comes to us and reveals God's self on God's terms. That is part of the deal when you are God--you control the stage lights and the microphone levels. How does God aka Jesus reveal himself in tonight's gospel? First, scriptures are opened (which opens hearts)--that still works. That is part of my own faith journey. Second, God is revealed in the breaking of the bread. I can't help but connect that to communion. That was a palpable absence this year in our streaming Holy Week services. Third, God is revealed in the mystery. Jesus just vanishes from their presence. God comes and goes on God's terms. We can't keep God in a tomb or a room or trick question or a conversation without God's cooperation. Fourth, God comes speaking and revealing peace. Reconciliation that happened through Jesus' life and on the cross is of paramount importance. Fifth, God is revealed in the physicality of Jesus. He shows his scars and wounds from Holy Week. He is resurrected and renewed but still bears the marks of his human journey. God is revealed in eating fish. That was a demonstration that he is back among us in bodily form. God is one of us. We lose sight of Jesus' humanity to our own peril. Sixth, God is revealed in an ongoing fashion through the work of the Holy Spirit--the power from on high that clothes us. We are clothed in Christ and in that same Holy Spirit in baptism.
Blessed Easter to you and yours. May Jesus interrupt you and teach you and feed you when God sees fit--on God's terms. Blessings on your study of the words and mysteries of God. Blessings on your deepening connections to the most truly human Jesus. Blessings on your deepening connections to the most truly divine Jesus. Blessings on your sacramental life through baptism and communion. I am glad you are on this journey of faith. It is good to have traveling companions.
Jesus, come to us again (and again and again). Come to us, reveal yourself to us and through us. Amen.
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