Sermon for April 18, 2021 Easter 3 B House of Prayer Lutheran Church

Luke 24:36b-48 Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

Since the last time we met inside for worship last March, many people have taken to putting jigsaw puzzles together. During a year when so many of us had our regular routines interrupted and had to spend a lot of extra time at home, many found puzzles to be a good way to pass the time and maybe have a feeling of accomplishment. Jigsaw puzzles are a good metaphor for the past year: when the pandemic began we knew that we wanted to put everything together so life could get back to normal, but the pieces to get there were all jumbled and scattered about. As with a puzzle, gradually you put the edges together. Then you work on the inner pieces. In time, you are able to tell what the picture is, even if you don’t see the whole thing all together yet.

This metaphor also works for what it’s like as we grow in our understanding of God. God is ultimately way beyond our ability as humans to fully understand. BUT, we are able to understand enough--and over time be able to see more of the picture of who God is and what God is like. With a puzzle, you look at the box top for clues. With our faith, the “boxtop” is Jesus--you look to Jesus for the clues for who God is and what God is like.

The disciples whom we hear about in Luke’s gospel were also putting a puzzle together, as bit by bit as they grew in their understanding of Jesus. And what was the “edge of the puzzle” for them? What was the first thing that came into focus after the resurrection? What did Jesus want for them the first time he appeared among them as the risen Christ? The Peace of God! The risen Jesus stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Jesus wanted them to know that even though they might be startled and terrified, frightened and doubting--things were still going to be ok, because he was going to fill them with God’s peace.

Jesus wanted them to know that they didn’t have to have everything figured out ahead of time. They didn’t have to go into the future being unafraid in order for Jesus to befriend them. They didn’t have to have no doubts arise in their hearts in order for Christ to be with them. All they needed was the peace of God, and Jesus would help them get through whatever came next.

We find ourselves in a similar situation today because, like the disciples, there are lots of things that we don’t fully understand. How much longer will we be living with a pandemic? We don’t know. What exactly will life be like when it’s over? We don’t know. What about the long-term struggles people will suffer from? We don’t know. What will be all the effects from the past year that will carry over into work, school, church, friendships, community, recreation, health car, or communication? We don’t fully know. Like the disciples 2,000 years ago, we are putting one piece of the puzzle together at a time, and only bit by bit does a fuller picture become clear.

But through it all there is one thing that we can count on: the risen Jesus is among us, because he wants us to have the peace of God in our lives--and he wants us to share that peace of God with the world.

It was the same way with the disciples--Jesus knew that God’s peace settling into their hearts, minds, and souls was the first thing they needed. This would give them hope for the future, help them find healing and new life, and inspire their faith to follow the way of the cross. The “peace of God” is what would help them start “piecing together” all the jumble of the world around them--things that made them startled and terrified; and frightened and doubting; AND joyous in the good news of Easter--joyous, even as they were disbelieving and still wondering about everything that had happened. With the peace of God they could have the confidence that over time the fuller picture would come into view.

How did they know that it was actually Jesus who had appeared among them to share God’s peace? This is another key part of the puzzle: he showed them his hands and feet. The risen Jesus still had his scars. Christ’s defeat of death didn’t erase his experience of suffering on the cross. But his resurrection did empty the suffering of its power.

Modern study of trauma, and the effects of trauma on the human body and human experience, very clearly reflect the truth that Jesus taught when he showed his scars to the disciples. And that truth is that our bodies carry the traumatic wounds of the past with them. Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally--whether the traumatic wounding happened yesterday, or three days ago, or a year ago, or a decade ago, or a lifetime ago--our bodies, like Jesus’ risen body, remember the wounds.

And this is another reason why the scarred-yet-risen-and-healed Jesus appears among the disciples to share the peace of God--he came to say, “I’ve been through the kind of things you’ve been through.” So lift up your wounds to Jesus. Let him carry them for you, so that bit by bit God can grow the healing power of resurrection life within you--as you find the JOY of having Christ in your life.

As the gospel of Luke reminds us, the joy and the wounds are all jumbled together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. And that jumble is the evidence that the risen Christ is still among us, in the midst of things we can’t fully understand, to offer us God’s peace and to reassure us that with him things are going to be alright. Amen.