The Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Touch and See

Readings: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:35-48

I have a friend with a wonderful tropical aquarium full of amazing and exotic fish. One day he went all out and paid $62.00 for one prize fish. It was a wrasse, a colourful tropical fish with a bright yellow tail. He had never spent that much on a single fish before. He handled it as carefully as he could, checking the temperature of the water, and observing how it got along with other fish in the tank. However, in the morning when he got up to look at his prize fish, it was gone. He must have searched the tank for an hour. There was simply no sign of his fish. His $6.95 triggerfish on the other hand looked quite smug and self-satisfied. My friend chalked it up as an expensive experience.

But later that day, as he passed the tank he noticed that the wrasse was back. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was not a mark on the fish! It was simply swimming nonchalantly around the tank as if nothing unusual had occurred.

The next morning the fish had disappeared again. Gone! Inexplicably! Just as suddenly about noon it was back again. He could not understand it. So he called the dealer and shared his dilemma. He laughed. "Didn't anybody tell you? The wrasse buries itself in the sand to sleep and doesn't get up until it's good and ready!"

So what does all this have to do with the Easter message? It is what the disciples continued to discover as the Easter story unfolded in their lives. It is what we continue to discover as we look for signs of the resurrection in our lives. They are there. God is revealed to us in many ways. But sometimes they are out of sight. Hidden away! Unrecognized! It is up to each of us to open our eyes and experience the amazing fact of the resurrection. Often it is not until we look back over our lives that we recognize how God has been revealed to us. Yet it is usually in very real and tangible ways.

That is certainly evident in the gospel account of the resurrection. It is the experience of the disciples who were met by Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. They didn't recognize Jesus right away. As they walked with heavy hearts they had no idea who it was that walked with them. Even while he talked with them about the Scriptures they did not open their eyes in recognition. It was not until they were settled at table. He broke bread and handed it to them. In the breaking of bread they recognized their friend and companion. They saw with eyes of faith. They knew the risen Saviour.

That was when they sprang into action. Once they knew, once they experienced the power of the resurrection in their lives, once they recognized the risen Saviour, they could no longer hold back the good news. They couldn't wait to get back to Jerusalem to tell the others what had happened on the road. How Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of bread.

And once you have experienced the power of the resurrection breaking through in your life, you begin to see the signs of it all around you. You cannot wait to share it. And once you begin to share it, others open their eyes to the wonder of it all.

It was that way for the disciples. The risen Saviour stood before them all. "Peace be with you." And with those comforting words, Jesus shared the good news that he was among them, really present with them, in ways that they could see and touch as he submitted to their curious, doubting, probing hands.

The fact is the great event of the resurrection is beyond all human comprehension. Yet it continues to be revealed to us. God incarnate came to us as a baby. He died on the cross at the hands of his own creatures. Now following his resurrection, he comes into our dull existence saying, "Touch me and see." Christ continues to make himself known to us in real and tangible ways. It is not by accident that we are a sacramental people. The rituals of our faith are intended to help us to see and touch.

Jesus made himself known to the disciples in a clear and tangible way. He let them touch him. He asked for food. He ate with them. In such clear ways they saw the truth of the resurrection. If we expect people to understand the truth of the gospel, then we need to reach out to them in clear and tangible ways about the faith. Do our liturgies speak in meaningful ways? Do we reach out beyond ourselves in ways which help people to see the risen Christ in our lives? All the talking in the world will not convince people about the need for God in their lives.

When I was a theological student, I got to know Kim, a young priest from Korea who was doing postgraduate studies. I asked how he came to faith. "I was a little boy living in a big city," he said. "I came from a large family. We often went hungry. One day, I was walking down the street past a big red brick building. I could hear music coming from one of the rooms. I looked in. There were many people seated around tables and they were all eating. They saw me standing by the door. They invited me in and filled a plate with food for me. I was told that I could come back whenever I wanted. They told me about Jesus and his love. But more than that, they gave me tangible evidence that Jesus loved me by feeding me. I began to go to the services. I was baptized along with all of my family. That congregation continues to help me in my studies."

It is not simply through our sacramental life that we give people tangible evidence of the Christian life. It is through reaching out to others in faith, through meeting their needs, through filling the hungry that they begin to see the signs of resurrection in their own lives.

It is important for us to remember in our parish life. We may wonder what we as one small congregation can do. There is so much need in our community and in the world. And it is not simply about food. Many people are hungry for justice. Too many people live in poverty in the midst of plenty in our Canadian Society. It is an abomination that in this wealthy nation, children go to bed hungry, and people are homeless. Our Aboriginal people continue to search for healing from the terrible abuses of the past. I speak not only of the abuses that took place in the Residential Schools, but also of the loss of their way of life, broken treaties, diseases and sickness, deprivation of culture, and the many other issues that they face on a daily basis.

The resurrected Christ is still largely unrecognized in our world. Yet he still calls us. He challenges us to touch and to handle. He offers us opportunities to recognize and embrace him in faith. He has set us free. We are assured that the same power that raised him from the dead is available to us through him. He can satisfy the hunger of our souls. He can satisfy the hunger of those around us. He can give, even in the midst of this bewildering and chaotic world in which we live, eternal peace, vibrant joy.

May we go out empowered by the Spirit to share the good news of our risen Saviour! Amen.