Reverend Ref +

EASTER 3A

We've been bouncing around our senses the last couple of weeks. At the Great Vigil, the two Marys saw and heard both the angel and Jesus, and they also touched Jesus. On Easter Day, Mary saw and heard two angels. She also saw Jesus, but that didn't register until she heard him. Last week, the disciples saw, heard and felt Jesus, and it was implied that Thomas touched him. And today, the gospel tells us that some disciples saw, heard and felt Jesus.

I talked about seeing Jesus in a variety of places and reaching out to touch and accept what he had to offer. Two weeks ago, I said that maybe instead of looking for Jesus we should be listening. If you've been listening to my sermons, I won't fault you for being confused.

Do we look? Do we listen? Do we touch? Do we feel? In a classic Episcopalian answer, Yes. And this is what makes Christianity different from any other religion in the world. In all of the other religions, their God or gods is an idea, a spirit, supernatural humans, something other-worldly. Christianity alone has a God who we can see, hear, touch and feel in the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity alone has a God who has lived the human experience.

Today's gospel has 'human experience' written all over it. That experience is written all over this little trip to Emmaus, and I think it's significant.

Did you ever have a bad experience where you were happy to leave it behind you? There's a saying, and you can spin it anyway you want, that goes, "Happiness is seeing Texas in your rearview mirror." Maybe that's what was going on with these two disciples. They had just had the really, really bad experience of living through what would eventually become known as Holy Week. They had seen the crowds lay down the palms, maybe they were part of the last supper or had heard about it, they knew of the betrayal, the arrest and the crucifixion. They got it all, except resurrection. So now they were on their way to Emmaus, leaving Jerusalem behind. Maybe they were thinking, "Happiness is seeing Jerusalem in your review mirror."

Maybe it's just me, but I remember going through one of those experiences and not wanting anything to do with it. So much so, as a matter of fact, that I would have been as blinded as these two disciples had I come across anyone trying to tell me that, no, it wasn't all that bad; and in fact, it was necessary and good.

Most recently that experience was seminary. Not seminary as in Seabury, because that was good -- the school, the people, the education -- but seminary as in the process. Having to deal with a confrontational COM, having to leave my home for Chicago, having to live in the flatlands of Chicago where it could take you an hour to drive 20 miles, feeling unsupported by my home parish. Based on all of that, I was never so happy as to see Chicago in my rearview mirror.

Had I met someone who had tried to tell me that it was all good, my answer would have been, "Uh huh - right." I just wanted to get out of Dodge and head home; although Sheridan and VC weren't yet home, it was west, it was mountains, and it wasn't Chicago.

Sometimes it seems like it wasn't until after my ordination in December that it all came together: spending time talking with you about life in these two communities, the churches, the people the history; being able to have discussions with you about the lessons or the gospel or the sermon or the church; and sharing the Eucharist with you. In those acts, Jesus is alive. In those acts, we are able to see, hear, touch and feel. In those acts and in these people, you, we share the human experience with Jesus.

Do you remember what those two disciples did after Jesus vanised from their sight? They immediately returned to Jerusalem, the place where just a few hours ago they were ready to leave forever. They couldn't wait to get back to tell the rest of the disciples that Jesus was alive; that the betrayal, crucifixion and death were all necessary and worth it.

In seven weeks I am going to return to Chicago. In seven weeks I will meet with some old friends, some other disciples, and I will be able to tell them that it was all worth it. Jesus is alive. I will tell them that Jesus is alive in the people of my congregations and I can see, hear, touch and feel him. I will tell them that Jesus is part of the human experience in Montana.

No matter where we are in our life journey, we can be assured that Jesus can make the journey with us. We may not always recognize his presence, but he is there. We can see him in the actins of others; we can hear him in the words of a discussion; we can touch him at the peace; and we can feel him in the community of this church. Jesus lived the human experience, just as we live the human experience. It is that which makes Christianity different from any other religion. It is that which should make us run back to tell the others that we have seen Jesus.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!