Year B, Third Sunday of Easter,
April 14, 2024
Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, 1 John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Touch and See: Living the Legacy of Resurrection”
The Reverend Kathleen Murray, Rector
Historic Beckford Parish, Mt. Jackson & Woodstock
Third Sunday of Easter, Year B
April 14, 2024
In today’s gospel from Luke, we witness a profound moment where the resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples, providing them undeniable proof of his physical resurrection by showing them his hands and feet and even sharing a meal with them. In this pivotal moment, Jesus confirms his resurrection and opens the disciples’ minds to understand the Scriptures. He explains that everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled. Jesus then commissions the disciples to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, and he promises that they will be endowed with power from on high—setting the stage for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Some of us, especially those who are a bit older, often ask ourselves, “What legacy do we want to leave behind?” This poignant question sometimes encompasses financial inheritances, but frequently, the question is about how we want to be remembered in the future. This notion of legacy leads us to consider our own.
Much like Jesus, our legacies can also be defined not by worldly accolades but by the spiritual and moral inheritances we leave behind. For example, April is a time that I often think about my grandmother, my father, and my brother. They all died in April, and each left a unique legacy. My father instilled in me a love of learning, my grandmother a devotion to prayer, and my brother demonstrated the simple joys in life. Did you know that in 1975, the Navy was the single source of a glow stick? You can buy them anywhere now, but no other kids in our area had them back then. On a more serious note, my brother left a legacy of being a nice guy who was always willing to help a friend.
These personal reflections on legacy mirror the profound spiritual legacy Jesus gave his disciples. By focusing on what we leave behind regarding faith and action, we can connect directly back to Jesus’ intentions after his resurrection. While no interviewer ever asked Jesus what legacy he wanted to leave behind, the question of legacy — what Jesus sought to leave behind — is an important theme in Jesus’ post-resurrection accounts. Jesus does not seem concerned with what the masses will have to say about him – instead, Jesus is concerned with what his disciples will know and believe and what they will do in his name.
The events described in Luke and the subsequent ascension of Jesus deeply relate to the concept of legacy, particularly in how Jesus prepares his disciples to carry forward his teachings and mission after his departure. Here, the legacy isn’t simply about leaving behind memories or symbols but is profoundly about entrusting a transformative message and mission to his followers.
In these passages, Jesus opens the disciples’ understanding of the Scriptures; he is effectively handing over the key to interpreting the entire narrative of the Old Testament in the light of his death and resurrection. This act of revealing how the Scriptures foretell his work establishes a theological legacy—his followers are to continue interpreting and teaching these texts within the framework of his life, death, and resurrection. This legacy is not just knowledge but an empowered understanding that they are to share universally, “to all nations,” beginning from Jerusalem.
We encounter Jesus with his disciples one last time. This is the last time Jesus will share his peace with the disciples; this is the last time the disciples will be able to see and touch Jesus’ body; and this is the last time Jesus and the disciples will share a meal. After this, Jesus will lead his disciples to Bethany, where he will be lifted up and seated at the Father’s right hand.
Think about the disciples’ encounter with this risen Christ who had to declare “peace be with you” and that he was not a ghost.[1] Think about what this experience means in a Christian context in today’s world.
It is not just an old story from two thousand years ago but our experience with the Risen Christ.
Think about our legacy and how bleak it becomes when we fail to “declare peace” and “touch and see” the harm done to our brothers and sisters.
What kind of harm?
We’re pretty frankly numbed to the daily violence that pervades our lives. In 2023, there were 656 mass shootings in the United States. That’s 1.8 mass shootings every day.[2]
The City of Loveland, Colorado, was sued for the use of excessive force in an arrest. Now, this arrest is different from many others we’ve heard about. It was the arrest of a then 73-year-old Caucasian woman. She has dementia. She was accused of shoplifting. She turned away and started walking away. A video of the arrest shows an officer grabbing one of her arms, putting it behind her back, and pushing her 80-pound body to the ground, seriously dislocating her shoulder. The woman looked absolutely and completely confused from start to finish. I have to say that the video broke my heart because I can see that happening to my sister, who has both dementia and aphasia. I understand respecting the law and obeying commands, but can we not use common sense when someone clearly cannot understand and comply?[3]
These current challenges echo Jesus’ urgency in ensuring his disciples understood their mission to spread his teachings. My point in sharing these stories is, what is our legacy as a society? The reality is that all vulnerable people can be taken advantage of. And what do we do about it?
As disciples of Christ, we are called to acknowledge the sinfulness surrounding us. And as Jesus tells the disciples, “repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”[4] All nations. All colors. All abilities. God’s promise is made attainable to all people regardless of status, class, race, or all other categories designed to separate and fracture the human family of God.
“Touch me and see,” invites Jesus. Yet, we have to accept the gospel without the benefit of touching the historical Jesus – without the benefit of touching the resurrected Jesus.
So what’s the next best thing? How can we respond to Jesus’ invitation to “touch me and see”?
To see Jesus in the other. To be a church that lives and breathes the resurrection and the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. To be a witness and preach repentance and forgiveness, we must be willing to tell the world about our encounters with Jesus Christ and the word of God.
As we consider these actions, we should remember Jesus’ final teachings to his disciples, emphasizing how crucial it is for us to continue on his path of love and peace. We are called daily to be authentic disciples and become part of Christ’s resurrected life. “Touch me and see”. We are challenged today. Who in our communities needs the presence and witness of the risen Christ? What kinds of experiences and understandings do we need to be credible witnesses to God’s aims in the world?
Before their journey, Jesus addresses his disciples and presents them with a final testimony. Jesus tells his disciples that his passion, death, and resurrection have fulfilled everything written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. Now that God’s word has been fulfilled, true repentance and forgiveness can finally be proclaimed to all people. Jesus’ legacy is his passion, death, and resurrection, and it has fulfilled everything promised in Holy Scripture. Through these acts, God in Christ has opened salvation to all nations, expanding God’s word through the Word made flesh beyond the people of Israel. But Jesus does not simply leave behind a legacy – a long list of accomplishments and accolades – but a covenant – an eternal and limitless promise.
Jesus opens the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures and grasp who Jesus is so that they may continue to follow in his way of love once he departs this earth. If we want to fulfill our end of Jesus’ eternal covenant, we need to partake in that which the risen Jesus did himself: offer his peace.
When it is time for our legacy to be shared, will it be one of peace, love, and faith in Christ?
[1] Cf. Luke 24:36b-37, New Revised Standard Version (“NRSV”)
[2] https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/, Accessed April 13, 2024.
[3] https://www.npr.org/2021/05/19/998433764/former-colorado-officers-who-arrested-73-year-old-woman-with-dementia-face-charges, Accessed April 13, 2024.
[4] Luke 26:47, NRSV