Third Sunday of Easter

The disciples were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

A mother looks out of her kitchen window and sees her two sons, brothers fighting each other. It looks serious. When they see her hurry our of the house towards them they disentangle themselves from each other’s hold hoping against hope that she will let the matter pass without comment. But she’s not going to do that is she? No such luck! ‘What on God’s good earth is going on here?’ she asks. She knows what was happening. They were fighting. She could see the results of the blows. But that wasn’t the question. What is really going on?  ‘Why are they two brothers fighting? What is really going on between them? Only when she has the answer to that question will she truly know what is really going on and why the two of them are fighting in the first place.

It is always frustrating to witness an event without knowing what it actually means. From our own experience we know the difference between having an experience and knowing what that experience means. Between being part of an event and understanding its significance. Jesus himself made the distinction between those who see and hear and those who perceive and understand. Being part of an event is no guarantee that we will understand it. As T. S. Eliot observed: "We have had the experience but missed the meaning".

Two weeks ago on Easter Sunday we celebrated the resurrection. On the rest of the Sundays of Easter we called in our readings at the Eucharist to allow the meaning of the event to be revealed to us. The first disciple experienced the Risen Jesus. They saw him raised with their own eyes. But what did it mean? What does it mean? What did it mean for those first disciples? What does it mean for us?

In the Gospel reading for today we see how the disciples of Jesus have real trouble making sense of Jesus recent death never mind his resurrection! What was his death all about? He had to show them that his death was real and that it was part of God’s plan as revealed by the prophets. How do they make sense of what is going on when Jesus appears to them? He had to show them that his raising was real – he was not a ghost because a ghost wouldn’t be interested in a fish supper. What does the death and resurrection of Jesus mean for us? Of course you wouldn’t expect a simple answer would you? It means many things. But there is one thing that it means that I would like to think about today. Jesus shows the disciples the reality of his wounds thereby signifying the reality of his suffering. He has been raised from within that suffering. He has been raised through a terrible death. The worst thing that could happen has happened and it did not destroy him. Just the contrary. From the worst thing there has arisen the best and the greatest thing. From a terrible situation of suffering and death there has arisen new and eternal life. Even in the cross there is the hope of the resurrection. Life is found in the midst of death. Joy is found in the midst of sorrow. Peace in the midst of pain. Gain in the midst of loss.