Luke 24:36b-48 (NRSV)
Read Luke 24:36b-48 on biblegateway.com
Verse 36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." Verse 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Verse 38He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Verse 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." Verse 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Verse 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" Verse 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, Verse 43and he took it and ate in their presence. Verse 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." Verse 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, Verse 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, Verse 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Verse 48You are witnesses of these things.
Devotion
After Jesus erases the disciples’ doubts that he may be a ghost, they still stand there in wonder. So, Jesus asks for something to eat and “they give him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it in their presence.” Food ... an invitation to be present to the purpose of the visit. Jesus did not just begin talking while they were still in disbelief and awe. He used a way that would be ordinary. He used a daily activity that would help them relax and center them in community: he ate. They watched, and waited, and were calmed by his presence. Only then were they ready to hear what Jesus had to say: a bit of history, tying it to the present, calling them forward into the future, and leaving them with instructions to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” He is solidifying God’s legacy to us.
And, here we sit having experienced the holy season of Easter. Once again we are walking its history, tying its message to our purposeful living now, and calling us to proclaim through the promised Holy Spirit the message of forgiveness to all people.
Prayer
Dearest Jesus, weaving your legacy and my legacy together, you fulfill your gracious promise and loving presence. Lead us as we plod along the roads of our years asking for help and encouraging others, open to your action in our lives. Amen.