Fish

 

Service of Worship

Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church

April 18, 2021

Rev. Natalie Bowerman, Pastor

 

Let us pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, the light of your love shines on, illuminating the places where you are present. As the bewildered disciples pondered the stories of your appearance, you penetrated the darkness of their fear and doubt with your word of peace. You showed them the appalling marks of evil pierced on your hands and feet. You opened their minds to understand why you had to die to defeat such evil and death. Increase our understanding, we pray, and open our minds and hearts to receive you . . .

Lord, hear our prayer . . .

Bring to us O God, the sense of your living presence as we go into this new week. Renew in us the faith you want us to have, the faith that is not afraid to reach out in your name and to share the treasure you have given us, that treasure which is greater than silver and gold . . .

Lord – you know our hearts, you know our needs, and you know the hearts of those around us and their needs. We lift ourselves and them before you at this time . . .

Lord, hear our prayer . . .

Lord, we specially hold before you today . . .
(intercessions are shared)

Lord hear our prayer . . .

Finally, O Lord, we ask that you would bless us at [local congregation] with vision for the future and reverence for the past. Guide us each day as we minister to one another and to world for which you gave yourself. Help us each day to bear witness to your name and to do that which you would have us do. We ask it through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

 

Luke 24: 36b-48

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

 

A Message

“Fish”

 

I really, really, miss singing in church. I know I’m not alone in this. We’re United Methodists after all. We launched a religious revival with music. Singing is in our blood. And we’ve got some truly rich historical material to sing from thanks to Charles Wesley.

 

There was one hymn in particular that I had in mind all week, especially after looking at this morning’s Gospel text from Luke. It’s a Methodist staple, one that the worship committee at annual conference loves using, and if you were ever curious to look it up it’s 553 in the hymnal.

 

And are we yet alive

And see each other’s face

 

It lends itself to a very corny but heartwarming moment where the worship director tells you to go make eye contact with your neighbor. It’s too cheesy for my taste, but that particular worship exercise does remind us of something very important—what does it mean to be alive?

 

This is the time in our church year where that question is more important than ever. Christ is Risen! We are Resurrection people! We’re here to celebrate life! Life is the victor over death and we live eternally because of Jesus!

 

But what should all of that mean to us right now? What should this huge emphasis on life mean to a room full of Jesus followers? What was Charles Wesley getting at when he prompted us to look at one another for evidence of vitality?

 

On Monday mornings I have a zoom meeting with several other Methodist pastors from this general area. We formed the group so we could talk about the lectionary appointed scripture passages and what we might lift up in this week’s sermon. Lately we like to make sure that out of our two hour weekly meeting the Bible comes up at least once in that time somewhere. When we looked at this passage from Luke together we took note of how similar this Gospel passage is to the one we heard last week: It’s just after Jesus’ resurrection, and the remaining disciples are hiding in fear, unaware that Jesus is risen from the dead. Jesus appears among them, tells them not to be afraid, encourages them not to doubt him, and offers them physical, tangible proof of his living body by allowing them to look at and even touch his injuries.

 

There’s really only 2 details that separate this story from what we heard last week:

1.     This time Thomas is in the same room as everyone else so we don’t have the “doubting Thomas” situation, and

2.     In this story Jesus eats some fish

 

Jesus shocking the disciples by suddenly appearing in the middle of their hang out spot alive and walking and talking is surely more than enough of a resurrection story for Luke’s audience, but not enough for Luke himself. This unique detail, that Jesus sits down and asks what’s for dinner, and then eats a piece of fish in front of everyone, was clearly very precious to our evangelist. Digesting food is a sign of a living body. But more than that, sitting with your friends and joining them for supper is proof that Jesus is not only digesting, walking, and respirating, but a fully human man who is alive. In this version of the resurrection story Jesus proves that he’s not a ghost, not a subhuman object to be feared, but a man with a familiar face, friends, and a favorite meal. It matters. He matters.

 

Despite knowing better, a lot of us still think of Easter as a one-day event. You get a predictable scripture reading, hymns you have memorized, your favorite brass soloists, a bunch of lilies, an egg hunt, and brunch with your mom. You hear the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, and if you’re not careful you absorb along with that the idea that the only message there is that Jesus isn’t dead. That’s certainly important.

 

But Easter is a whole season, not just a day, We celebrate the season of Easter all the way until Pentecost on May 23^rd. I value the time to sit and ruminate on these most central messages of our faith, because the sacredness of life is a huge concept, and something that we mortals have shown we struggle with. It’s hard enough for us to wrap our heads around the theological stuff—Does God individually create every single person? Where and what were we before we were born? Where and when did our lives begin? What happens when we die? Do we go to heaven, and what does it look like? Ironically, though, it seems it’s harder still for us to wrap our heads around what life means, and what it’s worth, while we’re just dwelling on this mortal coil.

 

The last few weeks have been more than enough to convince me that we humans know nothing about the value of this gift of life. It brings me back to “And Are We Yet Alive”, verse 3:

 

What troubles have we seen,
What conflicts have we passed,
Fightings without, and fears within,
Since we assembled last.

 

It’s a gracious, poetic way to describe the mangled state of the world. Just three days ago a nineteen year old man opened fire at a Fedex warehouse in Indianapolis, taking eight lives before then taking his own. Last Sunday, a police officer in suburban Minneapolis mistook her gun for her taser and fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. A few days ago, video footage from last December made the news, and we witnessed two police officers in Virginia verbally abuse and pepper spray 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario. Days later, video footage leaked of a murder that happened a few weeks ago in Chicago, where a police officer fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who had his hands in the air. And the backdrop for all of this has been the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. A clergy friend of mine, who was deeply distressed, wrote: Welcome to America, where we interrupt our interruption of the police killing trial with another police killing to bring you this breaking news of another mass shooting. And that really summed up my feelings. Lord, have mercy.

 

Jesus came that we may have life, and have it abundantly.

 

Jesus lived to teach us how God would have us treat one another.

 

Jesus suffered and died to save us.

 

Jesus rose so we would rise with him.

 

I don’t know about you, but this Good Friday in our country has gone on long enough. I’ve had enough suffering and dying. I want to see abundant life again. I want to see us rise.

 

But, like our evangelist Luke, we don’t get to that abundant life until we slow down and start treating these signs of vitality as holy.

 

Jesus, capital enemy #1, a man of color tortured and murdered by law enforcement, is shown in brilliant glory this morning as a man who ate fish with his friends. He’s as human as any of us, and it matters that he’s alive. His disciples knew it as soon as they saw his face.

 

George Floyd, an African American man who died with a police officer’s knee on his neck, died calling out for his mama. He had a family, and he was loved. He had a face. He had a name. His life didn’t have to be perfect for it to matter.

 

Daunte Wright had a girlfriend and a 2-year-old waiting for him at home. Caron Nazario serves our country’s military. Adam Toledo was in the seventh grade. John Weisert, killed in the Fedex facility shooting, would have celebrated his 50^th wedding anniversary this fall. Samaria Blackwell, also killed in that mass shooting, loved basketball and soccer.

 

They were people. They were loved. They mattered. Their lives were worth celebrating, worth protecting, worth fighting for, and worth more than anyone’s desire to own a gun.

 

If we can recognize Jesus’ life in something as simple as eating a piece of fish, than nothing in this life—not race, not sex or gender identity, not a criminal record or a history of drub abuse, and certainly not a short temper and quick access to a firearm—should make anyone else we see around us, any other face, look any less human.

 

Jesus didn’t just die to give us paradise in heaven someday. He died to give us the Kingdom of God right here on this earth. The first step in getting there is recognizing the Imago Dei, the image of God, in every person, and to start placing much higher value on the lives Jesus died to save.

 

Let us take up the cross,
Till we the crown obtain;
And gladly reckon all things loss,
So we may Jesus gain.

 

Amen.

 

I invite you to receive the benediction:

Go now as God’s chosen witnesses
to testify that Christ has been raised
and that we are raised with him.
Do not look for him among the dead,
but be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

And may God raise you from all that would entomb you;
May Christ Jesus call you by name and go ahead of you;
And may the Holy Spirit empower you for all that is good.