Sermon at Grace Episcopal on April 26, 2009

by Lynette

While the disciples were telling how they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, "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." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that 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, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." Luke 24: 36-48
Has anyone here seen the little Hawaiian monk seal that's been hanging out at the Kaunakakai Wharf? There are all sorts of signs posted around town to keep your distance from him because monk seals are an endangered species… absolutely no closer than 150 feet. But this little guy was raised at Sea Life Park and seems to prefer warm, shallow waters and human company to the unknown, deep, dark waters beyond the wharf. It's what he's used to. It's his comfort zone. It's tempting to want to feed him, or pet him, or play with him. But it isn't good for him. Monk seals aren't pets and they usually live and travel thousands of miles in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. So even though he is cute, he can only fully be what he was created to be if he is encouraged to leave the shallow waters and go out into the deep.

It's a lot like us. Most of us prefer the shallows, even in our faith walk. Christian growth is a process. We become Christians when we receive Jesus as our Lord. We discover the grace of God and our sins are forgiven in an instant. But true joy comes when we let God's love soak deep into every part of our being. And His true peace comes as He moves places where our deep hurts and dark fears live.

Our gospel lesson this morning is about the first Easter night. It comes from the perspective of Luke: a Greek physician.

Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to His disciples while they were talking about His resurrection. In the middle of the conversation, Jesus suddenly showed up. He said, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost. I don't blame them. Their first reaction was to reject what their eyes were seeing. It must be the "ghost" of Jesus, come back from the dead.

Look at how Jesus reacts. "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet." Somehow the scars from being crucified were visible, but they were healed over. Then Jesus told them, "…see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." I picture the disciples standing around Jesus, slowly reaching out their hands and touching Him on the shoulder, looking closely at His hands, seeing the scars, looking into His eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. Jesus was physically standing in front of them, just as alive and human as He was before the crucifixion. Only now, He had those scars.

I want you to do something a little different right now. I want you to take a break from listening to me, and turn your body, and look at the person sitting next to you. Do that right now. Now, I want you to shake that person's hand. I know, I know, this is not what we normally do during the sermon. But just humor me - I'll tell you why in a second - shake the person's hand sitting next to you. How did that feel, shaking that person's hand? That was a real live hand, wasn't it? That's exactly how Jesus felt to those disciples. They reached out and touched the risen Christ. He was real. A real hand. A real foot. Not a ghost. Not a figment of their imaginations.

They weren't seeing things because they were so sad that Jesus died. They physically shook the hand of the living Christ.

There was no doubt. Jesus was physically alive and active. People might be able to ignore a ghost, even if they were afraid. They couldn't ignore Jesus. The One that they saw die - now really was alive.

And then Jesus did something to make me think He would enjoy worship practice on a Saturday night. Verse 41 says: "While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" That's my kind of Savior! "I was crucified. I've been raised from the dead. Let's eat!"

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence." Do you think Jesus was hungry? Or did He do this to prove to them, once again, that they weren't seeing things? The piece of fish they were saving for Thomas, Jesus ate it. It kind of gives me a new appreciation of Doubting Thomas. He comes in after a hard day. Everyone else has eaten. He goes to the table to get his bento and it s gone. He grumbles, "Where is my food?" The others answer, "Jesus ate it." Thomas says, "Not funny, guys. Where is my dinner?" "We told you. Jesus came back from the dead!" Thomas says, "Yeah right! When I see the holes in His hands and feet, then I will believe that. Meanwhile, where did you hide my plate lunch?"

To believe that Jesus rose from the dead is the first step in going deep. It takes faith. It breaks all the rules of nature in the world around us. When you're dead, you're dead. That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? And besides, if Jesus were alive, where is He? You never see Him.

That's because Jesus isn't working in the shallows. He did that already when He came to earth. It limited Him to working in a small area, the areas He could physically touch. But since He has moved back to the depths of heaven, the Holy Spirit can live and touch all of us in the same instant, no matter how near or far we are from the same place. And He can touch us even deeper than our stomachs: He can reach in and bring His healing light to the depths of our hearts.

As I said earlier: that's where the true joy and the perfect healing take place. Does anyone remember watching pictures of salmon on one of those nature shows, or maybe you've been there to see for yourself when salmon are spawning? I've seen pictures of a school of salmon swimming along in deep water. But the images that remain with me are the pictures of them in rivers, swimming against the current, and then flapping around in inches of water, struggling to get to some unknown place upstream. They are struggling because they are in the shallows. You might even say they look like a fish out of water, even though technically they are still in a bit of water. But they are thrashing about because salmon thrive in deep waters. And in shallow waters, they are easy pickings for their enemies. When they are not in the deep, they work harder but they move slower. And they get eaten by almost anything or anyone who wants a fish dinner. And soon, they lie on their sides and give up and die. That's life in the shallows for us too.

2 weeks ago we learned about what to do if we find ourselves living on empty and we need to be filled. First - we need to look for Jesus. Then we don't cave in to temptation. Third - we grab a brother or sister to help us and pray with us.

Last week, we discovered what to do when we get full of ourselves, and so full of bad things that there isn't room to let God in. First - we need to look for Jesus. Then we don't cave in to temptation. Third - we grab a brother or sister to help us and pray with us. Then we added 2 more things to sweeten the pot. We talked about how thankfulness and praise can change our hearts.

So this week we have DEEP as our theme. The true riches that God has for us come from a deep walk with the Risen Jesus. Unfortunately, many people wait until they are sick or hurt or in trouble before they begin to go deep with the Lord. And pain opens us deeply like a surgeon's knife. But we don't have to wait until we are laid off, or have cancer, or lose a child, or discover that there is no ice cream at Kamoi's until the barge comes in to go deep with Jesus. We can start from anyplace. We can start from where we are right now because He is at work with us, even when we are in the shallow places. Just as there is no place so deep that God cannot reach, there is also no place so shallow that His hands don't fit.

He can reach onto the dance floors, into our work places, into our homes, into the places we play and take us deep - from that spot. We don't have to wait until our lives sound like a blues song (you know: my wife left me, my truck is broken and my horse has run off with another cowboy). Jesus doesn't make us wait until the wheels fall off to help us go deeper with Him.

Anyone want to guess the first principle of how to go deep with Jesus? First - wherever we are, we need to look for Jesus. There is no mountain so tall, no valley so low, and no darkness so dark that chases Him away. Even in the shallowest place, He is gently (or not so gently) calling out to us to start a new and exciting journey with Him. And whether we have never heard Him before or whether we are old friends, He still is calling our names. And if we once were close, but now find ourselves far away from God, He doesn't turn His back. Instead He brings us an invitation to His party: a party where we dance in the deep with Him.

The second principle of going deep with Jesus is to resist the desire to cave in to temptation. Now the list of temptations can get pretty long and complicated. So I'm not going to try list them. Whether it's sex or drugs or rock and roll, or food or money or greed or gossip or envy or selfishness or self-pity, here is a simple way to see it. Temptation is Satan's way of keeping us struggling in the shallows. Any time we give in and bite the lure of evil, the hook prevents us from going deeper.

Third - and this can be hard. We want to be self-sufficient. We want to do it ourselves. And it is especially hard if we are ashamed because we caved in to one or a bunch of those temptations. But if we can overcome our shame, grabbing a godly person can be what gets us through the shallows or the dark valleys. One warning though. When we turn to Jesus, we turn to someone perfect. When we grab on to a sister or a brother, we are holding on to someone who will fail, fall short and sometimes let us down. One of the things that brings me great sadness is when I see someone leave fellowship because one of us has unintentionally stepped on their toes or has failed them. We will fail each other. God will not fail us. And when my shallowness has wounded you, both of us can get stuck in the shallows and flounder. But if we both have hearts that are willing to be healed, God's love can move us to deep waters of friendship and fellowship again.

Fourth - a thankful heart that is full of praise helps keep us looking at God and not being stuck on ourselves. There is nothing so shallow as someone who thinks it is all about them. Last night I was watching a music video. Eric Clapton had just finished playing a set, actually he was just finishing an awesome concert, and the crowd went wild. The band had left the stage, the lights were dimmed, but they were on their feet calling and stomping and cheering. As they applauded, a roadie was serving the band by walking out and crouching on the stage changing the guitars around. I wondered what that felt like. Do you think he was tempted to let that praise just wash over him? It reminded me of the time Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the back of a donkey while the crowds shouted Hosanna. The donkey thought that the people were all cheering for him.
In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles (3:12-19), Peter and John had just healed a man who was crippled from birth. Instead of taking credit, Peter addressed the crowd, "why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?" Then he told them it was through Jesus that God had healed this man.
That's where I want to end this today. It ALL comes from God. If we want to live in the deep places where the love of God reigns, we have to acknowledge that it all comes from God. If we want to get out of the shallows where we struggle, we need to learn that a life full of joy comes from God. If we want our families to thrive and feed where the big fish live, it is time to realize that the biggest fish live only in the deepest waters. Our biggest blessings only come when we are ready to go into the deep with Jesus.

It is not about us. It is all about Him. Amen.

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