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This weekend was the long awaited wedding of Prince William and
Kate Middleton of England. For months, since their engagement
announcement, the world has been abuzz about the prince marrying
a commoner and what direction the royalty might take. They have
made appearances and let it be known that they would like to
lead their lives and raise their children in a more realistic
environment than royalty provides. Longing for a normal life,
they even declared they were thinking of doing their own house
cleaning!
As time drew
nearer to the wedding date this week, the news was full of what
the wedding would be like. The world loves the romance and
fantasy of kings and queens and their lives. People came from
other countries, to line the streets days before the event. The
news stations spent weeks surmising what would Kate’s dress look
like? What would the service be like? Who would be invited to
attend?
When the
moment finally arrived, it was the dream that millions
envisioned. The news reported that several billion people
watched the event! The church had trees lining the center aisle
inside the church; the bride was beautiful; the prince charming;
the music exquisite and even the two and four year old
attendants were perfect. It was a magnificent wedding;
definitely a place to see and be seen.
For the last
seven weeks in our church, we have journeyed through the final
weeks of Jesus’ life and the dramatic appearances he made along
the way, including a miracle at a wedding. There were times of
healing and teaching the people about who God was. Then we heard
the account of Jesus even raising Lazarus from the dead, putting
himself ever more at risk with the religious Jewish leaders,
finally climaxing in Jesus’ arrest and horrific death. We have
journeyed through the last supper and the darkness of Good
Friday, experiencing some of the hopelessness the people must
have felt so long ago.
Many of us
have participated in the Lenten Home Gatherings to share the
story and ponder the events and to also recognize ourselves in
the crowd. It is not comfortable for us to implicate ourselves
but oh, so important for our relationship with Jesus and each
other. There is much about the story that disturbs us and we are
aware that often our appearances are not much better than
Pilate’s or those of the crowd. We see Pilate, as such a weak
leader, afraid to confront the people; reluctant to stand up for
what was right. But you and I have the advantage of being able
to learn from their mistakes and ours. With God’s help, we can
make a better appearance.
The
Scripture today is the dramatic historical account of many who
saw Jesus after he was crucified. It was the first week after
Jesus’ death and the disciples, afraid they might be killed too,
were hidden behind locked doors. And then, just when they felt
the most hopeless and frightened, Jesus appeared to them, saying
“Peace be with you!” and the disciples were overjoyed.
I think that
if we are honest with ourselves, Jesus makes appearances to us
too. Now I don’t mean showing us his wounds in the checkout lane
in the grocery store. I mean something much more subtle, easy to
miss if we aren’t paying attention. I mean watching a kind act
between strangers and being touched by the example of kindness.
I’m thinking about the Author of Truth, when the person in front
of me returns the excess change given them by accident. I’m
thinking of the one who forgives someone who doesn’t deserve it,
allowing them to forgive another. Or what about the person who
after struggling with an answer to an unsolvable dilemma, is
awakened in the middle of the night with the perfect solution?
I am always
amazed at how many people can so simply explain these things
away in the most far reaching kinds of ways; like the stars and
the moon was lined up for me; or my horoscope predicted this; or
the most common: it’s just a coincidence. How many appearances
does God have to offer before we begin to see that unearned
love, protection, inspiration or direction as the presence of
God? Why do we demand the same appearance the disciples received
before we will believe? Isn’t Christ capable of appearing in a
way best for us? Don’t we already have the proof we need from
both the historical Biblical accounts and our own experiences?
The
appearances of Jesus in our lives are given so that we might
believe. They are gifts to show us the truth of God’s promise
always to be with us. This recorded account of Jesus making
himself present after death to so many, is so that over two
thousand years later, we too might believe. We don’t have to
place our hands on the wounds of Jesus to believe; that has
already been done for us. To believe is to set aside our anxiety
and our frantic pace of being dependent on ourselves alone. That
is not God’s plan. To believe is to receive God’s presence and
be all the richer for it.
Each of us
have had events in our lives where God appeared, but we have
disregarded them, demanding the world’s kind of proof rather
than God’s. We doubt because the world doubts, afraid we will be
laughed at, and then miss what God has to offer us. If we listen
we can hear Jesus say to us “Peace be with you.” We do not have
to find our own way, but only follow the path already in place
for us as believers.
I think we
can learn from children who have an innocence that is not yet
replaced by the doubt of the world. Think back on your childhood
or early development as a new believer; when you were just
beginning to learn about God, as a child or an adult. Something
happened that brought you to faith’s door.
Two are
prominent for me in first becoming aware of God, As a child, a
concrete appearance is necessary for a child’s mind. I was five
and my family had come to Colorado to vacation for the first
time. One day we took a hike that I remember as the highest
mountain in the world. I remember standing higher than my
parents enraptured by the beauty of the mountains. My family
tells the story of my arms outstretched and in a convincing tone
declaring “Only God could make these!” I didn’t know it then,
but God’s presence was claiming me.
A second
event occurred when I was eight or nine. I had just become a
Girl Scout that fall and for Christmas I was given the
extravagant gift, from my family of little means, of a Girl
Scout watch. It was my first watch with a picture of a Girl
Scout in the middle. It was the most valuable thing I had ever
seen.
One day, in
the deep cold of a Minnesota winter, I remember hurrying home
from school, following the path on the mounds of snow. At home,
while removing my snow suit I discovered my beloved watch was
gone. I remember sobbing and my Mom lovingly encouraging me to
retrace my steps to see if it could be found. By the time I got
my snow pants on again and arrived at my school to take the same
way back, I was cold and worried. As I trudged over the same
ridges of snow, I remember pleading with God to help me find my
watch. The sun had gone down and it was beginning to get dark.
Cold and tearful I kept talking to God certain he was my only
hope.
Suddenly, at
the height of my worry, eyes fixed on my path, I looked down and
there it was, twinkling up at me in the snow! I am as convinced
now as I was then, that God had heard my cries and became known
to me in that way, specifically so that I might believe. And
believe I did!
But
appearances aren’t only for children. A Presbyterian pastor
tells this story of a woman in her congregation who had lost her
husband and was overwhelmed with grief. She could not get used
to being without him. The nights were the worst for her; hearing
noises in the house and unable to get used to sleeping alone.
This deep searing grief had been with her for months and would
not abate. One night at 3:00 AM she was staring at the ceiling
and weeping, when all of a sudden her husband came back and
crawled into bed with her. He didn’t say a word; he just
appeared and then faded away. She immediately felt a sense of
deep peace and hope and no longer felt so alone. She thought her
pastor would think she was crazy, but the pastor knew she was
not. The suffering woman had been resurrected from her grief and
was convinced the image came from God. Whether we can relate or
not, we know that nothing is impossible with God.
As adults we
smile condescendingly at a child’s experience with God, being
too sophisticated to pray for such things; and with adults we
inwardly doubt or dismiss their account.
But I think
this Scripture assures us that God appears in as many ways as it
takes to get our attention, whatever our age. Because once we
notice the unmistakable presence of God, we are then able to
watch for God in ways we had never imagined, and at last
believing in the one true God. Recognizing the appearance of God
is to experience the miracle of resurrection in us.
Jesus
appeared to many following his death. These are historical
events recorded for us for the express purpose of helping us
believe, hundreds of years later. The appearances of God that we
experience in Scripture, dreams, wisdom, or forgiveness, are
just a few of the ways Jesus appears to us.
The world
believes that appearances are everything and so they are if they
are from God. Enjoy the appearances of the world, but place your
trust in the appearances of Christ in your life; for they are
foreshadowing’s of our bodily resurrection, when we leave this
world for the next.
AMEN |
