By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
“This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, v47and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. v48You are witnesses of these things. (Read Luke 24:36-48).
Two of the disciples were on the road towards Emmaus, a village about seven miles from the City of Jerusalem. As they walk they talk about the events of the past week: the arrest, the horrible crucifixion and the seemingly crazy story that Jesus had risen from the dead. Are the women who told them that they saw Jesus alive experiencing delirium?
And we are told that “as they talked and discussed these things…Jesus himself came up and walked along with them…”. The two disciples did not recognize him. In the gospel according to John the risen Christ appeared to Mary in the garden yet she did not recognize the Lord. All the four gospels have one in common relative to the risen Christ: no one believes of the Good News that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead when they first heard it. And these are the very people close to Jesus who have confided them that this will happen. Disbelief ironically started with the disciples who first heard and experienced the fulfillment of what Jesus has been telling them during their private moments, his rising again from the dead.
Despite the several insinuations and direct allusion of Jesus about his death and resurrection disbelief and doubt overcame the disciples. Today we hear and read in the social media seemingly genuine facts and stories only to turn out to be “fake” – hence, another expression added to our daily conversations: “fake news”. Except to the gullible (and there are many) news or stories which are out of the ordinary we usually have reservations and ask: “is it true?”. This maybe the feeling of the friends of Jesus who first heard about the resurrection. It is out of the ordinary that the tomb would just spew out the dead person to life!
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An elderly woman made her living selling artificial fruit. One day a customer complained the fruit she sold was not realistic enough. She pointed to an apple, saying it was too red, too round and too big to be a real apple. At that point the artificial fruit lady picked up the apple and proceeded to eat it.
The resurrection of Jesus, throughout the years has been critically examined, judged by authorities, and editorialized by writers, and the conclusion of most is that it is simply an event which cannot be proven and probably too good to be true. It may look like an apple but in actuality it is artificial fruit, they conclude. But if you will pick it up and take a bite you come to know that he really did rise from the grave. He is alive. He is listening to our prayers. He is ready to serve when that service deals with the human heart in need of a shepherd’s guidance and love.
After Jesus rose from the grave, he appeared several times to his disciples. At each appearance he always greets them “Peace be with you”. A very appropriate greeting after what the disciples gone through which we remembered during the Holy Week. But even with these assuring words, the disciples are still frightened. It is so because maybe, they have not taken seriously the words of Jesus about his death and his rising from the grave and when it happened and he appeared before them, they thought he was a ghost.
After eating something to show them that they are not seeing a ghost, but rather a very “person” and “real” Jesus, he tells them: “Recall those words I spoke to you when I was still with you: everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled.” Luke then writes, “Then he opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures.” Jesus “opened their minds.” This tells us that a special grace was needed for the disciples to understand what was written in Scripture about Jesus, that he was the real Messiah (the Savior, the Son of God – the Chosen One).
On their own and without his help, they would not have been able to fathom this. Jesus had to reveal it to them; just as later he would complete this revelation through the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would remind them of all that Jesus taught them.
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As we trod the thin line between life and death in this pandemic, let us not lost sight nor forget why we are here: to witness for the Risen Lord who has brought healing out from his wounds and life from death by his resurrection. He brought Shalom its true and comprehensive meaning. Shalom Aleikhem… “Peace be with you! Shalom (Hebrew: ––––––– shalom; also spelled as sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye. Shalom is the answer. Shalom is the question. Do we accept Jesus’ shalom: the peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility that brought about by his conquest of death? If so, how?
We are so much focused and anxious of the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions and vaccinations hullabaloos – that we don’t care or totally ignore the mockery of Jesus’ Shalom currently in the lives of people seeking to have a taste of the same.
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The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), a conglomeration of Christian churches and faith-based groups advocating genuine peace (Shalom) have designated May 2, 2021 as National Ecumenical Sunday of Lament. It cited one incident involving activists in Cavite last month. “Tao rin kami!” (We are people too!) These were reportedly the last words of Manny Asuncion of Bayan-Cavite on that fateful morning of March 7 before he was killed. Manny was one of the nine activists who were killed during the simultaneous raids in Southern Tagalog by combined police and military forces, on what is now known as Bloody Sunday. Thus is the information background in the PEPP released for the observance of National Ecumenical Sunday of Lament.
For all peoples of faith, the words “tao rin kami” is incredibly significant for it reminds us that each person is created in the image of God. This implies that every one of us bears God’s inherent gift of human dignity, which should not be shattered nor desecrated. The right to life is the most basic of all human rights and the most sacred. This is why we commemorate the season of lent – to remember the sacrifice of Jesus who was killed, crucified but came back to life, resurrected so that we can celebrate the triumph of life over death. It is very disturbing that in our day-to-day realities, there is hardly any respect for the sanctity of life. Killings have become an almost daily occurrence and the perpetrators have become fearless and merciless. Victims come from all ages and all walks of life. Aside from those who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs, the targets have expanded to priests, pastors, lawyers, local government officials, government employees, teachers, workers, farmers, indigenous people, and other human rights defenders.
But of course, this news and occurrences are ignored and overshadowed by our anxieties and self-preservation relative to the unabated spread of the virus.
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I read about this news report about a US Army veteran who had been receiving benefits from the government. Evidently he had been wounded in Vietnam and was now on permanent disability. One day, out of the blue, he received an official notification from the government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock! The veteran soldier wrote the government a letter stating that he was indeed very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The letter did no good. He then tried calling the government. (Have you ever tried to call the government? This required the patience of Job and the persistence of Noah!) The phone calls didn’t change the situation either. Finally, as a last resort, the veteran contacted a local television station, which ran a human-interest story about his situation. During the interview, the reporter asked him, “How do you feel about this whole ordeal?” The veteran chuckled and said, “Well, I feel a little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that you’re alive?”
That’s a pretty good question for all of us. Could you prove that you are alive? Really, genuinely, deep-down alive? When was the last time you had an alive moment? Not the last time you took a breath or had your heart beat inside your chest, but the last time you felt yourself alive to your living, alive to your loving, deeply present with the gift of life itself?” This is the Shalom that Jesus greeted, or shall I say commanded the despairing disciples when he appeared to them after that first Easter day.
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“This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, v47and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. v48You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24.46b-48). The Shalom of Jesus can be experienced if there is repentance and forgiveness among us. If we truly and sincerely believe in the resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, let our lives then bear testimony of that by being the light in our communities; salt in this world that has gone taste-less due to unbridled disregard of what is true and lovely – which is the way and statute of God Almighty. Shalom!
(cf. Sermon that Works, eSermons.com; PEPP Concept Paper for National Ecumenical Sunday of Lament)
Let us pray.
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (ECP-BCP 3rd Sunday of Easter Collect)**
