"Signs of Life"     2012

Isaiah 43:1,8-13 Luke 24:36-48

 

Isaiah 43:1,8-13

43But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 8Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! 9Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble. Who among them declared this, and foretold to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, “It is true.” 10You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 11I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. 12I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses, says the Lord. 13I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?

 

Luke 24:36-48

36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look 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.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence. 44Then 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.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things.

 

When I was a chaplain at the VA hospital in Richmond, Virginia,

            there was a huge ruckus one time    when a veteranà

                        was denied his  disability and medical benefits

                                    because the computer had him listed as, “deceased.”

 

            He was more than a little angry and frustrated

                        as he tried to convince a skeptical administrator

                                    and the Veterans Administration computer

                                                that he was who he claimed to be,

                                                            and that he was in fact, actually alive.

            And what made things even worse,

                        was that the admitting clerk’s attitude,

                              that it would be so much easier and far less paperwork

                                                if he would just go along   with being dead.

 

It was something like the situation we see in the Luke passage.

            The setting is the evening of Easter, a busy day for Jesus;

                        he was resurrected and left the tomb before sunrise,

                                    walked 20 miles to Emmaus with a pair of followers,

                                                who rush back to the disciples in Jerusalem,à

                             proceeding the events and conversation of this text.

 

In the passage, Jesus pops into where the disciples are gathered,

            and they are totally surprised and stunned to see him.

                        They knew he died on the cross, was in a tomb on Friday,

                                    and the generally speaking, the dead stay dead,

        so when they saw him, they’re thinking he’s not really alive.

vs. 37 

            They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

 

Jesus needed to show them and convince them

            that he is who he is, and that he is alive and not a ghost…

                 … so Jesus urged them to consider the evidence before them.

vs. 39 – 41

            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.

 

“See for yourselves and touch my wounds” …  … for it is by

          the scars of his suffering that authenticate his identity.

 

vs. 42-43

            They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

When they saw that Jesus was eating a fish,

            it established that his body was material and real,

                        and the truth of his physical, bodily resurrection…

          …for ghosts, non-physical beings hardly ever eat fish.

 

** Why was that so important?

            It was critical that these disciples

                        had to be absolutely convinced and sure he was alive;

                                    they needed to understand and believe it was true.

 

Only then, were they ready for the Bible and theology lesson.

vs. 44-47

            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.

           

The point here is that these events were foretold in Scripture,

            and they were the fulfillment of God’s promise of long ago,

                   and that it was a part of God‘s purpose and plan all along.

 

Even a casual reader of the gospels can’t miss noticing

            that throughout his earthly ministry, for the most part,

                        the disciples of Jesus are confused and clueless.

            Clearly they didn’t get it before, but now they must,

                        for now they have a job to do … the task of the Church.

            vs. 48              You are witnesses of these things.

 

This was not a new strategy or New Test. only  assignment from God,

            but all along God has always called for His people to testify

                       as His witnesses to the unbelieving world at large,

                                    to the truth, power and gracious deeds of the Lord…

… just as we read in   Isaiah 43:8-11

            Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!  Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble…          You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. … I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.

 

Called as God’s witnesses, to tell the world what God is up to,

      to tell the world what they are seeing – the mighty acts of God…

                        … for as the people of God, that is your job,  your task,

                                    so that the world may know… and perceive the truth.

God wanted that in the Old Testament from the people of Israel,

       and Jesus assigned that to his disciples, including you and I.

 

But, 20 centuries after these events,   how can we really know?

            We can’t see or touch Jesus physically or watch him eat fish.

 

In our world many scholars question and deny biblical teaching,

            claiming that the disciples were mostly ignorant fisherman

                        and the early Christian church had its own agenda…

                                                so they don’t accept Scripture as truthful.

          So how can we be sure, by what evidence can we really know

                   that the words and claims of the Bible are real and true,

                             or that the events really happened as described?

 

Thomas Jefferson wrestled and struggled with those questions.

            He was a rationalist and believed that everything has

                        a reasonable, observable and scientific explanation.

 

He very much believed and admired Jesus as a historical figure,

            especially his teaching, philosophy, and moral lessons.

                        Jefferson was a strong proponent of those Bible texts.

 

But since for Jefferson there was no such thing as supernatural,

            and he’d accept as true    only what he could observe himself;

                        which does not allow for the possibility of miracles

               and so he denied those stories as not possibly true.

 

Since he supported some of Scripture but rejected other parts,

            he edited his own version, known as, "The Jefferson Bible”,

                        from which he eliminated

                                   any references to the miraculous or supernatural,

                                                but kept in the history and moral teachings.

               What's left is all quite reasonable and rational.

 

Jefferson rejected the miraculous   including the resurrection,

            and so the Jefferson Bible ends with these words:

                   “There they laid Jesus and rolled a great stone at the mouth of the sepulcher and departed.”    That’s it, the end.

 

But with that ending,

            and what Jefferson was never able to explain was that if

                        the historical figure and teaching of Jesus are accurate

                                    but the disciples and early church

                                           in their ignorance or for whatever other reasons

                                                            made up the stories about miracles …

 … then why would they accept suffering and persecution for a lie?

What I can’t quite figure out, and what doesn’t make sense to me,

            is why those earliest Christians,

were so willing to suffer and die as martyrs …

            … for despite all persecution, suffering and death threats,

                        they insisted as true  the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

 

Why endure such persecution, if you’re not entirely convinced?,

            or if they had any doubts that it really didn’t all happen,

                        or as rationalists and some scholars claim,

                                    that the disciples got together  and made it all up?

                                   

We know as historical fact                  

            that they did willingly suffer and die for their faith,

                        which no one would do for something they didn’t believe…

            … which is why

                        Jesus went to such lengths to prove his resurrection –

                                    -- see me, touch me,  and watch me eat fish –

 

As I see and reflect on this and on God’s plan and purpose,

            these eyewitnesses were given all they needed to believe

                        which served to strengthen them to endure persecution;

            which at the very least assures us 20 centuries later,

                        that they really believed and they were convinced ---

                                      --- which in turn, is most convincing to me.

 

So here’s the challenge --- the Lord is still

            calling the people of God to witness and testify;

                        as it’s been passed down to us through the ages.

We are in the line of God’s servants

            called to tell and show the world about God and God’s truth…

 

… by what we say, by what we do and show by our attitudes,

            by the lives we live and by the people we touch with grace—

                              -- but we’re not always

                                       as good and faithful with that as we might be.

 

I remember when I left the corporate world to become a pastor,

            that I had to explain what I was planning to do

                        to a lot of my business colleagues and customers…

            … and I am still a little embarrassed

                        to admit how surprised and shocked some of them were.

   Truth is, my faith should have been more noticeable and visible.

 

But suppose there was a fire and all the church records were lost,

                 what would the level of your participation

                        in the life of this congregation say about your faith?

Would the level of your commitment and your Christian stewardship

            be more indicative of a visitor,  or a faithful church member?

 

Suppose it were something like

            the veteran at the VA hospital or Jesus in the upper room,

                could you provide evidence that your faith really is alive?

The truth is, God’s love and grace, God’s mercy and our salvation,

            God’s forgiveness of our sins, and promise of eternal life,

                   these are all God’s gifts of infinite value and worth.

 

Exactly like those earliest disciples,

            we are called,   not merely to accept, sit back, and survive,

                        for we are called,   not merely to believe and exist,

                                    but called to witness, even at personal risk…

          … as by the faithful and visible living out of our lives,

                   we are called to testify to the gospel truth.

 

One way or the other,  our lives do bear witness before others:

            - testifying to the love and grace of God, or else we do not.

            -          testifying that the Gospel matters,  or that it does not.

                        -          testifying that the presence of Christ in us

that it does change and transform our lives,

                                                or else that   it does not…

                       

…    for better or worse, our world is watching for our witness,

                to see evidence of our faith, of our living walk with God;

                        of whether or not, we are the Christians we claim to be.

 

Luigi Tarisio lived from 1790 to 1854.

            He was a very successful businessman, made a ton of money,

                        and loved violins,  though he couldn’t play very well.

 

 

 

Over his lifetime he was able to amass an incredible collection –

            24 Stradivarius & another 120 Italian masterpiece violins…

                        … which for the most part    he never allowed to be played.

 

What is the point or purpose

            of a well-made violin that has wonderful sound-qualities,

                        if it’s never played or used to make music?

            What is the value or worth of a Stradivarius violin

                        if no one ever hears the beautiful sounds it could make?

 

Our challenge is this,  what are we doing

          in response to the gracious love and blessings of the Lord?,

                   with the gifts of God that are of infinite value & worth?

 

            Jesus didn’t command the world to come to Church,

                        he commanded his Church to go

                                    and proclaim his name to our world and neighbors.

What is the testimony of our lives, out in our world ? à

            à and honestly, is there enough evidence

                        to prove that our faith and commitment really are alive?

 

          Considering our faithfulness and our Christian commitment,

                   are there any observable

                             signs of life for the world around us to see?

What evidence,   that you really are the Christian you claim to be,

          that by word and deed, you really are  one who walks with God?