Not Ordinary People

Luke 24: 36-48

These days are full of the run-of-the-mill responsibilities for family and personal duties that capture our attention. These same responsibilities and duties have captured the attention of people throughout the ages. The run-of-the-mill, the ordinary, keep us moving and reacting just as others were ensnared by the common things of life in ages past.

An ordinary fellow walked into an ordinary doctor’s office, and when the receptionist asked him what he had he replied, “Shingles.” She took down his name, address, insurance information, and told him to have a seat. Ten minutes later a nurse came and asked him what he had. “Shingles,” he replied. She took him in the back and did a complete workup. Twenty minutes later the doctor came in. The doctor asked, “What are you here for?” The man replied, again, “Shingles.” “Where?” the doctor asked. The ordinary fellow said, “In the truck. Where do you want them?”

Several years ago an expensive laboratory, test jet was approaching Edwards Air Force Base in California. When the pilot tried to lower the nose gear to landing position, it didn’t respond. The co-pilot ran a quick check and traced the problem to a faulty relay panel. Recognizing the problem, he hunted around for something to bypass the relay and activate the nose gear. He found a paper clip and bent it so that it bypassed the problem and triggered the nose gear. It worked like a charm, saving the expensive jet from a crash landing. At that moment, for that special job, the ordinary paper clip was more important than the rest of the sophisticated equipment on the plane. The ordinary did the job.

The eleven and their companions thought they were seeing a ghost. Moments before, the eleven and their companions told those who had seen Jesus on the way to Emmaus that Peter had seen Jesus too. Now Jesus appears before all of them, and they were startled and terrified. There is something between telling the story and experiencing the story. TELLING THE STORY doesn’t frighten you but EXPERIENCING THE STORY leaves you startled and terrified. TELLING THE STORY of God’s will and way being done leaves us in a contemplative state considering how we might faithfully live out our commitment to God. EXPERIENCING THE STORY of God’s will being done in, through or around us can leave us dazed and petrified. Both the telling and the experiencing are part of the Christian faith. The ordinary things of life, the run-of-the-mill, capture our attention everyday with every conversation we have, with every text, email or phone call we receive. The run-of-the-mill things of ordinary Christians are not our focus since our Sunday text has our resurrected Lord suddenly appearing and asking his friends to look at his scared body and touch him to confirm for themselves that he truly is the resurrected Jesus. It’s one thing to tell the story. It’s another thing to experience it. NEITHER THE TELLING NOR THE EXPERIENCING ARE ORDINARY. WE ARE NOT ORDINARY PEOPLE.

To address their doubts, Jesus. first, told them to look at his hands and feet. “See that it is I myself.” He then told them to touch him, “Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” They were in both joy and disbelief. Jesus then asked if they had anything to eat. They gave him broiled fish, an ordinary meal. He took it and ate it, an ordinary action. Their skepticism and fear apparently had to be addressed. So often in the history of the church believers discounted the work and significance of the physical world because the physical has so often succumb to temptations and works of sin and darkness. Jesus in this story walked among them, encouraged them to embrace him and make him lunch so they could observe him doing the simple, ordinary action of eating a meal. He was not a mere spirit but a resurrected Lord who bore our sins and carried our diseases. That same body on the cross and in the tomb now stood before them. He fulfilled what was written about the Messiah, including his death and resurrection, and repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

It’s no longer a guessing game if he really was resurrected. No one any longer is comparing second or third hand accounts of possible appearances of Jesus. Now that he stands before them, THE STORIES ALL HAVE POWER TO INSPIRE FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN OUR GOD, and trust everything he ever said was the truth. Our lesson concludes with the simple sentence, “You are my witnesses of these things.” I’d put it this way: now that you experienced the whole truth about Jesus, you have to tell it. AGAIN, WE ARE NOT ORDINARY PEOPLE.

When the old rabbi saw misfortune threatening the Jews in his region, it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate and pray. There he would light a fire, say a prayer, and a miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted. Later, when his student for the same reason of approaching misfortune went alone to pray, he went to the same place in the forest and said, “Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the fire, but I am still able to say the prayer.” And, again, a miracle was accomplished. Still later, the student of that rabbi in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say, “I do not know how to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, but I know the place, and this must be sufficient.” Once again, a miracle. Then it fell on the student of the next rabbi to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair in a home, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: “I am unable to light the fire and I do not know the prayer; I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story, and this must be sufficient.” And, again, it was sufficient.

In this ordinary life, in this run-of-the-mill town, all I can do is tell the story, and this must be sufficient. After they saw his hands and feet, they were in their joy with disbelief and wonder. Earlier in Luke 24, the women told the apostles of what they’d seen, but their words seemed to them an idle tale. It was only after multiple appearances of Jesus did the apostles and their companions fully believe. What now? Do we continue where we left off? Do we begin anew? Will Jesus now go to the Father and leave us here alone? What will happen to us? Will anyone believe us? All I can do, right now, is tell the story, THIS UNIQUE, UNPRESIDENTED STORY, and this must be sufficient. All YOU can do is tell YOUR story, the story or stories of YOUR encounters with the Lord Jesus Christ, YOUR experiences of repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name. All YOU can do is tell YOUR story, and this must be sufficient, because you are witnesses of these things, of sins forgiven, of great joy and peace, of assurance you are his child and the story of his blood and his name are sufficient for YOU. All you can do is tell the story and trust it will be sufficient for all whom God puts before you. IT WILL BE SUFFICIENT.

(Preached at St Mark United Methodist Church in Anniston, AL, 4-14-24)