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Psalm 133; Romans 12:4-5
Life Together: The Gift of Community
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20133%3B%20Romans%2012%3A4-5&version=CEB
 
We kick off this new season of reflections by doing something a little different. We will continue reflecting on the weekly scripture, but the scripture will not follow the lectionary for the next 5 weeks. We will incorporate scripture and topics from a book, Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as we figure out how to do life together in our current contexts (churches) but also in our country and world. Bonhoeffer’s timeless teaching reminds us the importance of community and offers wisdom and practices that help us connect to one another.
 
The words that drew my attention from the scripture reading were from Romans 12:5 in the Common English Bible. The New Living Translation uses the same phrase: “We belong to each other.” What a different world we would live in if we truly believed that we belonged to each other. Psalm 133:1 also drew my attention declaring how good and pleasing it is to God “when families live together as one.” It is much easier for families to live together as one when we understand that we belong to each other.
 
Belonging is a spiritual hunger we all yearn for. We search for a place or a people to feel connected, accepted, and a part of something bigger than ourselves. We don’t want to only be included or tolerated; we want to belong where we are equal, valued, seen and heard. We want to contribute our gifts and have them appreciated. We want to feel as though we have found “our people,” who share common beliefs, understandings, and experiences. C.S. Lewis described it best when he said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” We each long to belong.
 
This spiritual hunger of belonging comes from a feeling of loneliness, which is on the rise and becoming a public health concern. Technology is often to blame. It does offer the practical means of connecting, but fails in deeper, spiritual connections of belonging. These connections come from understanding that we, as humans, belong to each other. We are not to have power or influence over another. We are not to possess or dominate each other. We are equal parts that make up one, human family who depend on each other.
 
Paul described it as many parts of one body, the physical body of Christ. Each body part has a different function, but one function is not better or more important than another. The hands and feet work together and go in the same direction or purpose. We may have experienced a time when the hands don’t know what the feet are doing, or the hands do one thing while the feet are doing another. The hands may do specific work of serving, but they can’t serve if the feet don’t carry them there. As the hands and feet of Christ, we work together and function as one body of Christ. We belong to each other as we each belong to Christ.
 
This belonging to the body of Christ is a gift from God. Psalm 133 gives us the image of being ordained by God with the symbol of anointing with oil. Anointing kings with oil was used to symbolize God’s calling of that king and giving one the power and authority to lead on God’s behalf. The psalmist writes that God anoints us to belong to each other and become one united family of God. This belonging, this unity, pleases God!
 
When we understand that we belong to each other, we begin to appreciate the gift of the body. Despite our experiences of loneliness and our disappointment when the body doesn’t always function the way we want it to, we are grateful for the gift because it comes from God. We are grateful that we are not alone and that God has given us each other to belong to one another. May we be grateful for the gift of community.
 
Reflection Questions:

1. What does it mean for you personally to live as though “we belong to each other”?
2. Where have you experienced true belonging, and how did it shape your faith?
3. How can you help the body of Christ function with greater unity and love?

 
​Pray: Loving God, thank you for the gift of belonging—to You and to one another. Amen.
 
Act: This week, reach out to someone who may feel left out or alone and offer them a word or gesture of belonging.
  
*Common English Bible. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Acts 2:1-21
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202%3A1-21&version=NRSVUE
 
A little housekeeping before we get to the reflection: I will be taking a break from this weekly reflection for the summer. Summer has its own busyness with Annual Conference, camps, and a focus on youth ministry, but it’s always good to break from a usual weekly routine to rest and listen to the Holy Spirit. I will be back in September with a renewed vision as we launch into Fall.
 
We end this collection of reflections on Pentecost, which was actually the beginning for the disciples and their work as the church. Someone asked me once, “If we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, was the Holy Spirit not present before?” The Holy Spirit was always present, but their experience of the Holy Spirit in this particular gathering was significant in their lives and in the sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
The people in Jerusalem were gathered for the Festival of Weeks, seven weeks or fifty days after Passover, in which the people celebrated the wheat harvest and a covenant renewal. Often, Diaspora Jews would be present, which is indicated by the different locations across the region mentioned in the passage. These places don’t necessarily mean as much to us today, other than being hard to pronounce if you are the liturgist for Pentecost Sunday, but they are included to show that there were divisions among the people representing different nations. The Diaspora was a scattering of the Jewish people after the Babylonian captivity to countries outside of Israel. They started new lives in new places, yet, for this specific festival, they gathered back together, renewed their covenant with God, and the Holy Spirit showed up in a big way.
 
As they were “all together in one place,” (v.2) the Holy Spirit rushed in, sounding like a “violent wind,” and tongues of fire appeared above their heads, giving them the ability to speak in other languages, the languages of the Diaspora Jews. Storm imagery such as wind and fire was often understood to be from God. The force of the wind and the passion of the fire describes the power of the Holy Spirit. It was strong enough to move in and through people’s lives to make them to do what seemed like the impossible. Being able to speak their specific languages really blew their minds. They had no idea how they were able to do it. So, they all questioned, “What does this mean?” (v.12). They knew this supernatural experience had to have a deeper meaning.
 
The Holy Spirit causes us to question a deeper meaning of why or how something is happening. The Holy Spirit moves with great purpose. In this particular instance, because the different languages were the ones understood by the Diaspora Jews, scholars believe that this was God bringing the people back together as one. And, since those present would understand the good news of Jesus in their own dialects, they would take the message back with them to share with the local people in their regions. This was a new scattering, a scattering of the message of Jesus to be taken to all people.  
 
Peter answered their question by addressing the crowd and telling them that what was happening was fulfilling Joel’s prophecy in which God declares, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and they shall prophesy” (v.17-18). What does this mean? It means that God sent Christ for all people, not just one chosen group. It means that we’re all called to share the message of Christ in our own unique dialects, so others will understand. It means that the Holy Spirit will equip us even when the naysayers sneer and accuse us for being drunk. It means we become a part of the movement of the Holy Spirit.
 
The Holy Spirit is always coming to us, like a force of nature, so that others can experience God’s power. The Spirit moves for a purpose, and that purpose is for all people to receive its gift. The Spirit has the power to remove barriers such as language and geography. When we gather together, the Spirit is present in the gathering and ready to move through us. May the Holy Spirit rush in and fall upon all of us, again and again, as we continue scattering the message of Christ.    
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you experienced the Holy Spirit during the gathering of people that was a significant event in your life? Was it similar or different from this experience?
Has the Spirit caused you to question, “What does this mean?”
Is there an area in your life where you are still questioning its meaning?
How can the Spirit help you understand in your own language?
 
Pray: Come, Holy Spirit, and show us what it means. Make us speak the same language of love, so we understand one another despite our differences.
 
Act: Open yourself to the Holy Spirit and see what happens.
  
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Acts 16:16-34
Paul and Silas in Prison
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016%3A16-34&version=NRSVUE
 
In this passage, there are three different characters who experienced some kind of imprisonment. First, the woman with a “spirit of divination” (v.16) was a slave whose owners used her for her gift to make money. Some may interpret that she was enslaved by this spirit, but it wasn’t her gift that imprisoned her. It was her owners who profited off her. Paul released the spirit within her, and, therefore, released her from being exploited.
 
Because of Paul’s actions, he and Silas wind up in jail – a literal imprisonment. After they were flogged, the jailer put them in the “innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks” (v.24). While Paul and Silas were imprisoned, they prayed and sang hymns to God. They had just been beaten severely in the public square and thrown into jail in a foreign land, yet they worshiped God.
 
Often, when we are imprisoned, we don’t always praise God. We may become angry, lash out, or blame others, but we don’t always turn to God. We may pray for deliverance, but rarely do we worship and trust God to be with us during our imprisonment. How we react and respond during our times of imprisonment reflect our faith, and people are always watching and listening. As verse 25 says, “the prisoners were listening to” Paul and Silas as they worshipped God during their imprisonment.
 
And, this shook them to their core. The earth responded to the Spirit’s presence and their foundations were shaken. The doors were opened and “everyone’s chains were unfastened” (v.26). Not only Paul’s and Silas’s, but everyone’s – even those who were listening! The power of prayer and worship ripples out to all who are present and imprisoned, even the ones who aren’t even praying themselves and even the ones who don’t even realize they are imprisoned.
 
The jailer’s job was to follow orders to imprison people, yet he wasn’t aware that he was imprisoned by their system of oppression. When he “woke up” and realized that the prison’s doors were open, he assumed the prisoners escaped. Any prisoner would seize the opportunity to escape! Yet, these prisoners didn’t. Their foundations were shaken, and so they wanted to stay in the presence of the Spirit. Their chains were already unfastened, so what other freedom waits for them elsewhere?
 
When he assumed the prisoners had escaped, the jailer knew he would be held responsible, so instead of suffering from the hands of Roman soldiers, or even his co-workers, he began to draw his sword upon himself. Paul stopped him and yelled, “Do not harm yourself, for we are here!” (v.28). Paul stopped the one who imprisoned them from harming himself. If the jailer continued with his plan, Paul and Silas would have another opportunity to flee from prison. Instead, Paul responds with compassion and mercy. He, too, knows his true freedom comes from Christ.
 
This shakes the jailer’s foundation. He was so moved, he “fell down trembling” (v.28). This larger-than-life, strong soldier was brought to his knees in awe. He didn’t even know that he needed to be saved until he experienced Christ’s compassion and mercy through Paul and Silas. He knew he couldn’t go back to imprisoning people. He was imprisoned in their system, yet now he and his household received Christ’s redeeming grace. He responds with radical hospitality by inviting those he once imprisoned to join him around his table.
 
The power of the Spirit shakes the foundation of their lives. What they knew before is rattled and released through their prayers and praise as well as through the compassion and mercy extended to their oppressor. Everyone’s doors are opened and their chains are broken as they receive their freedom in Christ.
 
Reflection Questions:
When you feel imprisoned, what do you do? Do you become angry or do you turn to God?
When was the last time you “fell down trembling”? Reflect on the Holy Spirit’s presence in that moment and how you responded afterwards?
Have you experienced this kind of freedom? Has your foundation been shaken by the Spirit?
 
Pray: Come, Holy Spirit, and shake us to our core! Make us fall down trembling in awe of your presence.
 
Act: Extend a gesture of compassion and mercy to someone who may be harming themselves in some way. Extra points if it’s someone who is causing you harm.
  
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Acts 16:9-15
Lydia’s Conversion
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016%3A9-15&version=NRSVUE
 
Who was Lydia? She only gets a brief mention in the Bible, yet her story shines with meaning. Tucked in Acts 16:14, we meet “a certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God… from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth.” At first glance, it’s just one verse. But if we lean in and listen, Lydia’s story speaks volumes.
 
Paul and Timothy had traveled to Philippi, a bustling Roman colony in what is now Greece. There, they met Lydia, a woman far from home. She came from Thyatira, a city famous for its rich purple dye—luxury fit for royalty. Thyatira is located in modern-day Turkey. So, Lydia was an immigrant, an entrepreneur, a woman with business savvy thriving in the male-dominated textile trade.
 
But Lydia wasn’t just a sharp businesswoman. She was also a “worshiper of God”—someone who followed the Jewish faith even though she wasn’t born into it. On the Sabbath, when others may have been busy with trade and travel, Lydia gathered with others by the river to pray. With no synagogue in Philippi, the riverbank became their holy ground. That’s where Paul found her—listening, searching, open.
 
Though the Bible doesn’t tell us why Lydia left her home, we can imagine. Maybe she dreamed of a better life. Maybe she was led by necessity—or perhaps by God’s quiet nudge. Whatever her path, Lydia was different from many women we read about in Scripture. She wasn’t meek or hidden behind a husband’s name. Running a household and a thriving business, she stood tall in her own right.
 
Even with her success, Lydia’s heart was still searching. Wealth and status hadn’t filled the deeper longing within her. But that day by the river, Christ met her in her searching. As Paul shared the good news, “the Lord opened her heart” (v.14). That moment was a resurrection for Lydia. Not from a life of scandal or shame—but from a life that felt incomplete.
 
Her response was immediate. She and her household were baptized, and she threw open the doors of her home. She insisted Paul and his companions stay with her, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer! Lydia’s home became the first house church in Philippi—a place where faith took root, and hospitality became holy.
 
Lydia’s story matters. She was the first recorded Christian convert in Europe. Through her, the gospel crossed into new lands. But more than that, Lydia shows us what can happen when Christ opens the tombs of our hearts. We might not always know what we’re searching for, yet Christ meets us where we are—by riverbanks, in boardrooms, and in the quiet corners of our lives. Christ breathes new purpose into us and uses our gifts, our skills, even our homes to keep sharing the good news.
 
Lydia’s story invites us to reflect on our own story. What’s your resurrection story?
 
Reflection Questions:
Has God ever opened your heart?
If so, reflect on that experience, and how you responded. Did you respond with radical hospitality and service like Lydia?
How do you see God opening hearts around you or in our world?
How or when have you experienced resurrection when Christ opened your heart to new life and a deeper purpose?
 
Pray: Open our hearts, Lord, like Lydia’s, so we may listen eagerly, respond faithfully, and offer our lives for your holy work.
 
Act: Visit a sacred place this week to pray, and allow God to open your heart.
 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Acts 11:1-18
Peter’s Vision

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2011%3A1-18&version=NRSVUE
 
Peter had been busy spreading the good news and ministering to people. He was in Joppa after he brought Tabitha back to life, and he received an odd, perplexing vision from God about how God makes unclean animals clean. Peter retells this vision to the Jerusalem church, and it goes over about as well as telling a coworker about a crazy dream you had the night before. It did not make sense to them! Peter explains the vision by sharing how God perfectly timed the arrival of Cornelius’ men to take him to Cornelius’ household who was ready to receive Christ. Peter even said, “The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us” (v.12). So, Peter went and this Gentile household opened the door for Christ to enter the Gentile world.
 
Peter reported this amazing experience to the Jerusalem church, but they couldn’t get past the fact that Cornelius was a Gentile. He was a Roman Centurion, a Commander in the military, yet Cornelius “was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2). Although he was a Roman, he had converted to the Jewish faith. And now, he and his household (which included his family and servants) believed in Jesus. What would that mean for them to lose their Roman friend who was sympathetic to their plight? What would that mean for their Jewish faith?
 
The apostles and other followers heard that Gentiles were receiving Christ, but the “circumcised believers” still struggled with their Jewish laws that said they were not supposed to associate with Gentiles. They asked: “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” (v.3). The uncircumcised, the Gentiles, were considered unclean, and they could not be near or eat with anyone unclean. The people could not get past their old laws that created insiders and outsiders, even though Peter explained God’s hand was in this.
 
Peter tried it from a different angle. He explained that he knew he wasn’t supposed to associate with Gentiles, but “God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28). And, “If God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in Jesus, then who was I to hinder God?” (v.17, paraphrased). God is doing a new thing. Christ’s love is for everyone. Who am I to stand in the way of God?
 
When they heard this, they understood. They praised that “God has broken through to the other nations, [and] opened them up to Life!” (v. 18, The Message). God continues to break through our old way of thinking and our strict, discriminatory laws that hinder God’s love. God breaks through our distinctions and brings us together in Christ.
 
God’s dream is for all people to receive Christ. However, the people’s prejudice toward the Gentiles was a hindrance to God. Their laws created divisions between the people that stood in the way of God’s dream coming to fruition. There’s no stopping God though! The Spirit showed Peter God’s new vision. The Spirit moved Peter’s heart and used him to open the door to real change. Will we be the ones that God uses to bring real change, or will we be the ones who stand in God’s way? What in your life hinders God’s way, and how can you allow God to break through it to new life?    
 
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you ever stood in God’s way?
What has caused a hindrance to God? Your prejudice, anger, self-righteousness, grief?
How can you remove it to get out of God’s way?
 
Pray: Risen Lord, show us where we are standing in your way. Pour your Spirit upon us to see life in a new way.
 
Act: Allow a new spiritual insight to change the way you treat others.
  
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Acts 9:36-43
Tabitha’s Resurrection

​https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209%3A36-43&version=NRSVUE
 
Who was Tabitha? Nuanced details hint at who she was. She was a disciple, first of all, a follower of Jesus who was well-known to Peter, who was called when she became ill and died. Remember, this is after Pentecost, so thousands became believers, but Tabitha was known to Peter who dropped everything and came to her aide. That tells me that Tabitha was more than just a “church lady” in their sewing circle. She was prominent in her role at Joppa.

Joppa was a wealthy, Jewish port. In the Mediterranean world, women of means helped sponsor associations, and there were several wealthy women who gave Jesus and the disciples the means to spread the gospel. Tabitha was probably one of these women, so the loss of Tabitha would also be the loss of their benefactor.

As the writer of Acts tells us directly, Tabitha was “devoted to good works and acts of charity,” particularly to widows, as they were deeply grieving her death (v.36; 39). Jewish women were devoted to charity, specifically caring for widows as the scriptures taught, so this tells us that Tabitha was of the Jewish faith but also a follower of Jesus. The fact that she is known by her Aramaic name and a Greek name, Dorcas, hints that she was of Jewish heritage but ministering to both Jews and Gentiles.

Tabitha was a talented seamstress who made clothing for the widows. They were very proud of the clothing she made them, as they were holding them up in her honor to show how her amazing work touched them. Tabitha’s sewing ministry made a difference in the widow’s lives. They experienced the love of Christ through her care and compassion for the least of these. Tabitha didn’t charge these widows for the clothing, but made them extravagantly to show them human dignity and the extravagant love of Christ.

Tabitha’s ministry made a difference in the widows’ lives and in the Jesus movement. Her witness would be missed upon her death. Perhaps that is why Peter came at once and prayed for her resurrection. Tabitha was the first-person Peter resurrected after Christ’s resurrection, at least the first one recorded. Tabitha is also the only female follower of Jesus that was named a disciple.

Tabitha’s resurrection story is very interesting. Usually, in thinking about resurrection, we stress the importance of death first. In the case of Saul, last week, his old life of “breathing threats and murder against the disciples” (v.1) had to die before he experienced a new life in Christ. Thomas had to let go of doubt and certainty before he experienced Christ’s resurrection. As far as we know from Tabitha, her life was great. She was a model disciple who served the poor. Perhaps the loss of her ministry was the death that others would experience. Sometimes, our resurrection is for the benefit of others. Vere 42 tells us that “many believed in the Lord” because of her resurrection.

However, we do see a resurrection in Tabitha. She “opened her eyes” and after Peter helped her up, “he showed her to be alive” (v.41). Perhaps her acts of charity were not enough to make her feel alive. Perhaps others felt alive through her compassion and goodness, but it often made her feel depleted. We all get so caught up in our ministries in the church that sometimes they become more draining than life-giving. Perhaps she worked her fingers to the bone, focusing on the widows’ care more than her own. Peter helped Tabitha open her eyes and experience for herself what it means to be alive in Christ. Perhaps her resurrection was when Tabitha became a named disciple, and she served with Christ’s strength instead of solely her own.

We don’t hear about Tabitha again after her resurrection. We can assume she continued her work as a devoted disciple of Christ, and we can assume she resumed her acts of charity to the widows in Joppa. But, I like to think she approached her service with renewed hope and energy. Having experienced resurrection personally gave her a new understanding and purpose for her work. When Tabitha sewed new, extravagant tunics for the widows, she now understood that they are more than clothing. They are gifts of grace that offer the widows new life.
 
Reflection Questions:
Where do you serve as a disciple of Christ? Do you see it as providing only tangible items or are they tokens of God’s grace?
Does serving make you feel alive?
How can your ministry receive renewed energy or purpose?
 
Pray: Risen Lord, send someone to help us open our eyes, so we can see. Work through someone who helps us feel alive.
 
Act: Do one act of charity this week in honor of Tabitha’s witness.
 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Acts 9:1-20
The Conversion of Saul
​
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209%3A1-20&version=NRSVUE
 
In last week’s scripture, the word “seen” helped us to understand the importance of seeing the Risen Lord and being seen by him in order to believe. In this week’s scripture, we explore Saul’s inability to see, his sudden blindness on the road to Damascus, and what role this played in his conversion.

Saul was an ardent persecutor of the early disciples. The Risen Christ appeared to Saul in the form of a bright light that blinded him and caused him to fall to the ground. He didn’t see Jesus, but he heard him ask, “Why do you persecute me?” (v.4). Saul didn’t know Jesus’ voice and asked, “Who are you?” (v.5). The others who were with Saul didn’t see Jesus either, but heard Jesus’ voice. Jesus identified himself, and then told Saul to “get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (v.6).

Saul blindly followed Jesus’ instructions, and while in the city, he prayed and received a vision about Ananias healing him. Jesus gave Ananias a vision as well to look for Saul to heal his blindness. Although Ananias questioned Jesus’ instructions at first, he found Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (v.17).

Saul had “something like scales” over his eyes that prevented him from seeing who Jesus was or understanding who Jesus is. It wasn’t the revelation of Jesus that caused the scales to form. Saul was already blind. He was blind with rage when he persecuted Jesus’ followers. God’s glory on the road was the beginning of Saul learning how to see. While he was still blind physically, Jesus gave him a spiritual vision to see that Jesus is the Son of God and that he would be healed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ light healed his blindness and allowed him to see others through his eyes.  

The scales over his eyes probably resembled a fish’s scales which are opaque and would not allow light to pass through. A similar traditional Jewish story told about the healing of Tobit’s eyes when scales or films fell from his eyes. A flaky film might not cause complete blindness, but it would make it hard to see clearly.

Saul was a staunch Pharisee whose rigid views about God and tradition caused him to not see Jesus clearly. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, he double-downed to actively persecute and remove any trace of Jesus or his followers to prove his understanding of God was the only “right” one. His refusal to change and his self-righteousness were the scales that caused his blindness. The light of Christ removed the spiritual scales from his eyes, so he could see the truth about Jesus.

We all have scales or a flaky film covering our eyes, preventing us to see the truth. It could be our refusal to change or self-righteousness like Saul’s, or it could be anger, grief, or addictions. It could be deeper ‘isms that cause us to persecute others. Jesus wants to remove our scales to let the light in and to help us to see more clearly and truthfully. What scales are preventing you to see? How can you remove the scales from your eyes?
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you heard Jesus’ voice before but wasn’t able to see him in your situation?
Has he ever given you instructions like “Get up” and “Go”? Do you follow them like Saul?
How did this cause you to see?
 
Pray: Risen Lord, appear to us this day and show us the scales that need to fall from our eyes. Help us to see you fully and truthfully.
 
Act: Remove the scales that cause you to persecute others.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

John 29:19-31
Jesus Appears to the Disciples

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020%3A19-31&version=NRSVUE
 
Last week, the women at the tomb believed the resurrection when they remembered Jesus’ words. The angels told them to, “Remember how he told you” (Luke 24:6), and they finally understood his words. That night, Jesus appeared to his disciples who were still gathered in the Upper Room. The doors were locked out of fear, but Jesus appeared to them and showed them his hands and his side. They recognized it was Jesus by his wounds, and “then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (v.20). They believed the resurrection when they saw Jesus.

It seems as though they would have seen the person enter the room through a locked door, but it sounds as if they didn’t really recognize it was Jesus until they saw his wounds. That begs the question if the Risen Lord looked differently than before or were the disciples so distraught and fearful that they couldn’t believe their eyes. Did they blink several times or rub their eyes to make sure they were seeing what they thought they were seeing? Jesus confirmed they were truly seeing him by showing his wounds. I love that if the Risen Lord did look differently, he still carried the wounds of the world.

This scripture suggests to me that in order for a person to truly be seen by another, one has to reveal all of oneself including one’s wounds. And, in order for a person to truly see them, they must be willing to not turn away from the wounds. There’s no judgment or blame about how the person became wounded. There’s no guilt or shame if the person helped cause the wounds. There’s just love and an openness to see the person fully.

This works with Jesus too. When Jesus comes to us, he wants us to see him. He reveals to us all of himself. That could come through words of challenge or words of peace. That could come through a cup of water on a hot day or a smile from a stranger on your worst day. That could come with feeling a guilty conscience when we need to confess our wrongdoing or that could come with a warm presence surrounding us when we feel lost and alone. Jesus wants us to see him – all of him – and we can if we remain open and not turn away from what Jesus wants us to see.

The phrase “seeing is believing” seems to apply in this scripture because Jesus knows if the disciples see him fully, they will believe the resurrection. Unfortunately, Thomas was not with them during this appearance. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord” (v.25). But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (v.25). Thomas thought he needed to see AND feel Jesus for himself. He could not rely only on his eyes. He needed to touch Jesus’ wounds in order to believe.

When Jesus appeared to Thomas, Jesus offered to him what Thomas thought he needed. Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe” (v.27). Thomas thought he needed to see and feel Jesus in order to believe, but he just needed to be near Jesus. He needed to feel seen. When Jesus revealed that he knew what Thomas said and was willing to give it to him, Thomas felt seen by Jesus.  

Jesus pointed out, however, that Thomas believed because he had seen Jesus, but “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (29). Seeing with our eyes is only one way to believe and only a few saw Jesus after his resurrection. Many more believed because of their witness. None of us today have seen the physical Jesus, but we have seen the spirit of Jesus in many people. We have believed because we have seen people’s wounds and the healing power of Jesus. We have believed because we have revealed our wounds to another and felt seen by Jesus’ loving presence in them. Where have you seen the Lord? What has caused you to believe?

Reflection Questions
Where have you seen the Lord?
Have you ever seen Jesus or felt seen by Jesus?
What do you need to believe in the resurrection?
How do you draw near the Risen Christ?
 
Pray: Risen Lord, appear to us this day and show us your wounds. Help us to see you fully. Give us the courage to reveal all of ourselves to you.
 
Act: Listen lovingly and without judgment to someone who reveals a wound to you.  
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. 

Luke 24:1-12
The Resurrection of Jesus
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024%3A1-12&version=NRSVUE
 
The Resurrection is a foundational belief of our faith. As the Apostle’s Creed says, “I believe in Jesus Christ, … was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.” Further in the creed, it says, “I believe in…the resurrection of the body.” These statements about the Resurrection are an affirmation of our faith. So much rests on the Resurrection, that if archaeologists ever found the bones of Jesus, our faith would need to be re-examined. Even so, there are many who believe the resurrection is just “an idle tale” (v.11).

The women go to the tomb to take the spices they prepared for Jesus’ burial, and they discover the stone rolled away. Two angels appear and tell them that Jesus has been raised, just as Jesus had told them. They remembered Jesus' words and returned to tell the others, but the others didn’t believe them. Even though they had heard Jesus’ words too, they thought the resurrection was “an idle tale” or “nonsense,” as the New Living Translation says. They didn’t believe it from someone else’s report.

Peter then runs to the tomb to see for himself, and he returns home “amazed at what happened” (v.12). The Message says he was “puzzled, shaking his head,” and the New Living Translation says he was “wondering what happened.” Shaken, puzzled, and amazed, but not quite believing. Even though he was present to hear Jesus’ words and now he has seen the evidence (the linen cloths) for himself, he still wonders what happened. Perhaps he is turning it over in his mind whether this could be true or if this is nonsense, that it is too good to be true. Perhaps he is fearful to let himself believe such an idle tale could have real significance.
Many feel the same about the Resurrection. They believe in Jesus and his teachings, they’ve read scripture with Jesus’ own words foretelling it, but they just can’t believe in a bodily resurrection. It is not scientifically possible.

It is not until the Risen Christ appears to Peter personally that he believes, and the idle tale becomes a real significance in his life. The same happens to Thomas. He cannot take the others’ word for it. He has to see it for himself, and when he does, it becomes real.

That’s how faith works. We can view all the biblical stories as idle tales, and the historical events that happened to other people have no real significance to us. Or, we can open ourselves to the Resurrected Lord’s presence in our lives, and truly experience for ourselves the Resurrection. Christ resurrected so we can be resurrected from our dead lives. We often feel buried in the tombs of our lives, but Christ enters our tombs and we rise with him to receive new life.

Throughout our lives, we experience tiny deaths that seem like huge, encompassing deaths, like the loss of loved ones, the loss of the dream of what we thought our life would be, the loss or change of careers (or retirement), the loss of relationships that may or may not have been toxic to us (but they hurt nonetheless). When we come to the end of significant chapters in our lives, it may seem like a death. We all experience seasons that aren’t lifegiving, and we feel burned-out, buried, and quite frankly, dead. Christ is with us during these times and is waiting to rise with us. Christ can resurrect us from the deaths we encounter throughout our lives, and we rise to live a new chapter in a new life.

Until we experience the resurrection first hand, it may seem like an idle tale. I invite you to open your heart and allow the stone to roll away, to receive a new, resurrected one. A resurrected heart is filled with Christ’s presence that embraces the life you were meant to live, a life that is filled with love and newness. Will you rise and embrace the new life that is waiting for you? 
 
Reflection Questions
Do you think the Resurrection is an idle tale?
Have you experienced Christ’s resurrection where Christ has raised you from death into a new life?
Is there an area in your life that needs to be resurrected?
What would it take for you to trust that Christ can resurrect that part of your life?
During this Easter season, will you rise and embrace the new life that is waiting for you?
 
Pray:
Rise within us, O God, so we may walk out of our tombs into the new life you have waiting for us.
 
Act:
Reflect on something that is dead in your life. Let it go. Open yourself to something new.
 
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.