#Luke 24: 36b-48
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Sermon for Third Sunday of Easter (4/17/24)
Primary Text | Luke 24:36b-48
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Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Jesus has been raised from the dead. He lives. Though he was dead and buried, God’s promise is stronger than the power of death, the grave proved itself not able hold our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus lives. Because he lives, you live. Now he is ascended into heaven. Yet he is not only in heaven. He is on earth. Among his chosen people. It is a mistake to think that when Jesus ascended into heaven that he closed the door behind him, so that he is far and removed from us, this world, and our problems. He lives. And he lives on earth. Here. With us. How do we know where? He is wherever his word is proclaimed. When forgiveness is proclaimed in the name of Jesus, there he is. And wherever on earth he causes this to be done, there he has put himself. And there on earth exists a little bit of heaven. The risen Christ is here, dear people. For God has yet to withdraw his spoken word from you. Because you and I are people whom God has given the word—he is here, now. With you. And with me. Jesus is nearer to you than you are to yourself. Not by virtue of anything you have done, only by his sheer mercy, grace, and favor, you have been made alive together with Christ. Because he has been raised from the dead, your hope is secured. It is by the word spoken into your ears that you have been made a child of God. The word, which first came to you in your baptism. Baptism, which is God-in-water. The word in the water. You have been buried in this water. Just as Jesus is raised from the dead, so you too, in the water of baptism, have been raised. And therefore, you can never die.
Now we come to the matter of Jesus’ resurrection appearances to his disciples. Today in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:36-37). We in the 21st Century think we’re pretty smart. We are supposedly more enlightened and knowledgeable than people 2,000 years ago. We know people don’t just rise from the dead. That when someone is dead. They stay dead. This is nothing new. The disciples back then also were aware that it is not normal for someone to be alive after being dead. Dead people don’t rise. When Jesus, who was crucified and dead appeared to them, they were frightened. Something happened here that was not normal. They did not get that Jesus really meant it when he said he would rise from the dead on the third day. But here they are. They were shocked to see Jesus alive. They could not believe their eyes. They were afraid, and they thought, “Jesus must be a ghost!” A ghost Jesus seemed less absurd to the disciples than a living Jesus. A ghost after all is almost a figment of our imagination. It’s not something you can touch. It’s not something you can prove. A ghost has no body. Maybe we’d be scared if we saw a ghost. But day to day, we don’t really think about ghosts. Ghosts really don’t have an impact on mainstream society. They don’t change how our elections go or anything. Supposedly they can chuck a plate, but that’s in the movies. Whatever we can say about ghosts, which is not much, is that ghosts are mysterious and unknowable.
Ghost Jesus is most people’s version of Jesus. A Jesus who is a shadowy figure. Maybe he’s there. Maybe he’s not. And even if he is, he doesn’t really have anything to say. This version of Jesus certainly doesn’t require us to deny ourselves, or to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel. Ghost Jesus, by definition of being a ghost, has no material reality. He has no body to speak of. Ghost Jesus is a mist that can be blown away. Maybe he’s a nice thought. But nothing more. He’s nothing worth staking our life on. In our time of need we don’t turn to him because we don’t think we can rely on him. We know Ghost Jesus is most people’s version of Jesus because everyone lives for themselves. He has no say in a person’s life. A person might say they believe in God, but they don’t listen or do the things he commands. Case-in-point, very few go to church, the place where God speaks. Very few hear a sermon. Or get baptized. Or get communion. Without these things we cannot believe. A Christian is a rare bird. Though in reality we have always been rare.
Now, the real Jesus is something altogether different than Ghost Jesus. He is living. Alive. He has a body. As we hear in the Gospel of Luke, this real Jesus munched on fish. He’s a fish-muncher! Ghosts can’t do that. They don’t have flesh and blood. They can’t chew and swallow food. Someone put it this way—If the disciples didn’t believe Jesus after he ate that piece of broiled fish…they’d just need to wait around, give Jesus some time for the fish to get through his system, and they’d see where the fish came back out. Now that’s our God. He’s one of us. His body does the things our bodies do. This Jesus has a claim on you and on me. That you don’t belong to yourself. You belong to him. You are in his keeping. Unlike a ghost which is mysterious and unknowable, Jesus hasn’t left you to scratch your head and wonder. He has made himself known to you. In the preaching of the word. In the water of baptism. In the bread and wine of communion. In the speaking of forgiveness. So, we have church together. Regularly. We go to hear sermons. We get baptized. We have the Lord’s Supper frequently. Why? So, we may grow to trust God in all things. That we may have faith. Trust that he has saved us in both soul and body. He is reliable, so we can turn to him in our every need—without shame. He is unashamed to call you his own. Dear people, the real Jesus can’t be blown away. He’s not a shadowy figure. He is raised from the dead. Because he is raised, you are safe, both in life and in death. God has made his promise to you: You are forgiven. Just as death could not keep Jesus in the grave, so death cannot keep you in the grave. The Jesus who munched on fish is the reason you can have hope when otherwise there is no hope. There is nothing more certain. Peace be with you. Amen.
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Fear
4-14-20243rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:12-19 (NRSV)Luke 24:36b-48 (NRSV)
https://messy-spirituality.com/videos/sermons/2024/Fear-4-14-2024.mp4
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Jesus Is In the Room (Luke 24:36b-48)
Startled, troubled, and frightened the disciples were, as if somebody had just dropped a skunk into the room.
Jesus appears to the apostles, by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319)
Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have…
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#afraid#belief#christ is risen#christ&039;s disciples#christ&039;s resurrection#christian belief#christian disciples#christian discipleship#christian faith#christian life#christianity#eastertide#faith#fear#gospel of luke#jesus christ#jesus is risen#joy#luke 24#resurrection#risen christ#risen lord#spiritual body#spiritual confidence#spiritual transformation#troubled#witnesses
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We are Witnesses of His Resurrection l +Bp. Raymundo Abogatal Jr. | April , 14, 2024
Third Sunday of Easter April 14, 2024
Theme: “Go and Proclaim: God’s Word will open our eyes to the Resurrection of Christ!”
First Proclamation: Acts 3:12-19
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 4
Second Proclamation: 1 John 3:1-5
Gospel Proclamation: Luke 24:36b -48
Homily by +Bp. Raymundo Abogatal Jr.
We are Witnesses of His Resurrection!
In this Sunday Homily at Saint Michael Kalibo, +Bp. Raymundo…
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Renew April 2021
Every year I’m entranced and amused by the resurrected Jesus eating fish while his disciples watch. Here’s what I said this year:
I worked with Luke 24.36a-48 and the prayer over the gifts.
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The Scariest Word In Church
The Scariest Word In Church
Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter
Warning: this is going to be one of the scariest sermons you’re ever going to hear.
I’m invoking the poet and author Annie Dillard, who said, It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares.
So you have been duly warned.
Now you might be…
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THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B - GOSPEL - Luke 24:36b-48
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B – GOSPEL – Luke 24:36b-48
April 18, 2021
Luke 24:36b-48
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B https://youtu.be/RgfDVqfMaxw
24:36b While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
24:37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
24:38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
24:39 Look at my…
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#Achu and Yellow Soup#Corn Fufu and Njyama-njyama. African Dish. Recipe and Preparation#Mastering The Alphabet 2#Nkwen language#Responses at Mass in Nkwen Language#SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER Year B Gospel John 20:19-31#The hail Holy Queen Prayer in Nkwen Languag#THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
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50 Days of Rejoicing
Easter is more than one day at the end of Holy Week, it is an entire season with celebrations of the resurrection, stories of the time the apostolic witnesses spent with the Risen Christ, and joy in the promise of new life with the celebration of Baptisms and Affirmations of Baptism. It’s common for fasting and other forms of penitence to be set aside during this time, since we think of every day in the season as Sunday- a day of new life and resurrection.
The Great Vigil
Saturday night sits at the hinge between the sorrows of the Passion and the hope that has sustained God’s people through generations. Easter Vigil includes the blessing of the Paschal Candle, an Easter fire, a celebration of Baptism (and sometimes several Baptisms!), and the very first proclamation of the resurrection in worship with shouts of Alleluia. We hear the resurrection story from the Gospel of John. (John 20:1-18)
Easter Morning
With shouts of “Christ is Risen!” echoed by the assembly “He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”, Easter morning tells the story of the resurrection through the lens of the year’s Gospel. This year we will hear the testimony from Mark (Mark 16:1-8) with the command to go forth into the place where mission begins to find the Risen One.
Easter Evening
Sunday night is set aside for the reading and reflection on the story of two disciples walking home to Emmaus after learning of the death and burial of Jesus. This story from Luke 24:13-49 is a powerful reminder of the places where we can encounter the living Christ, even now: in sacred story, in caring for one another, and in the breaking of bread as we remember Jesus.
Easter 2
The second Sunday in Easter tells the story of the Apostle Thomas (John 20:19-31) and his longing to see the wounds and scars that Jesus bore so he could trust in the resurrection. Jesus celebrates faith, but is willing to let Thomas touch the scars to awaken such faith. The Apostle cries out, “My Lord and My God.”
Easter 3
The third Sunday lifts up a story from Luke 24:36b-48 where the reality of the resurrection comes through the act of eating together. Jesus dines with friends, a hallmark of his earthly ministry and demonstrates that he has a real body, not a ghostly one.
Easter 4
Sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday, this week always features some part of the Good Shepherd discourse from the Gospel of John. This year we’ll hear John 10:11-18 as Jesus describes the work of the Passion and Resurrection as the work of a loving shepherd protecting the flock from dangerous predators.
Easter 5
The fifth Sunday talks about our integration into the life of Christ. We are like the grafted branches that are added to a life-giving vine. The vine supplies the nutrients for growth and the branches blossom into fruitful yields.
Easter 6
The second to last Sunday brings us a story from John 15:9-17, which is a farewell discourse that Jesus originally delivers to his core disciples as he prepares for his death. Now we hear it as a preparation for the end of Eastertide, the departure of the resurrected body, and guide for how to be in the world as the embodiment of Christ.
Ascension Thursday
Forty days after Easter Sunday, we hear the story from Luke 24:44-53, where the witnesses of the Resurrection experience the departure of the physical presence of Christ in order to anticipate God’s presence in a new way. This departure left them in awe and wonder, but also in fear, since they weren’t yet sure how to be in the world without their beloved teacher.
Easter 7
The final Sunday of Easter brings us back to the farewell discourse of John’s Gospel. Here In John 17:6-19, Jesus prays for the protection of God on this new community in it’s infancy. The new community will live in the created world, but not be controlled by the systems of power that dominate the world, and they will need divine wisdom and love to live in this in between space.
Vigil of Pentecost
The Jewish celebration of Pentecost is a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest and also marks the 50th day after Passover, when the incredible gift of the Ten Commandments were received by Moses on Sinai.
Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we gather for a weekend of intense prayer and celebration. This evening worship is the third great Vigil or watchful waiting liturgy of the year after Christmas Eve and Easter Vigil. We gather in hope and longing that the God who drew near to us in Incarnation and Resurrection would draw near to us again in Indwelling through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We hear from John 7:37-39 how the Spirit is an ever-flowing stream that continually brings us to life.
Pentecost Sunday
On this feast day, we hear of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the energetic emergence of the Church. People are given gifts of speaking and listening, and the power of God is present in the whole body- every age, every ethnicity, every gender. We hear Jesus describing the work of the Spirit in John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 and read the Pentecost story from Acts 2:1-21. The colors of fire remind us that the Spirit’s energy is always with us and within us, day and night, in our waking and in our dreams. This holy day also marks the transition out of Eastertide and back to Ordinary time through the rest of the year until Advent in the Fall.
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Readings for Sunday 15th April 2018
As we prepare for the third Sunday after Easter we invite you to read with us
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
Acts 3:12-19
3:12 When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
3:13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of…
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Why are you frightened?
Why are you frightened?
Rev Deborah was the preacher on Sunday 18 April. Here is her sermon for you to ponder again.
Acts 3:12-19
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24: 36b-48
In our gospel reading today Jesus appears to the bewildered disciples. Jesus says to them, ‘peace be with you’. He then asks them a sort of double question.
‘Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts?’
You can imagine the disciples…
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#appear#appearance#believe#Christ#commission#complete#completeness#disciple#doubt#Easter#faith#fear#fearless#hope#Jesus#joy#love#peace#resurrection#Shalom#touch#trust#wholeness#witness
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Pastor Gary’s full sermon from April 18, 2021. This sermon is based on Luke 24:36b-48.
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The Resurrection of the Body
The Resurrection of the Body
Luke 24:36b-48
Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the…
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Sermon for Third Sunday of Easter (4/18/21)
Primary Text | Luke 24:36b-48
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Dear People of God,
After he was raised from the dead, Jesus stood among his disciples. Being as they did not expect it, “they were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost” (Luke 24:37). Jesus first act was to dispel from their hearts any notion that he was a ghost. He said “Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Right now, take a moment, put your hand on your collarbone. Feel your flesh and bones. What you feel is akin to what it was like for the disciples to touch the Lord’s body for themselves. When he was raised it was not an apparition, or a ghost, or a figment of someone’s imagination—he was raised in his physical body, with flesh and bones just as you have and have felt now for yourself. To reinforce this for the disciples Jesus then asked, “‘Have you anything to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence’” (Luke 24:41-43). A ghost is not a physical being. But our Lord is. That he ate a piece of broiled fish is a witness to the physicality of the resurrection. That he ate in their presence is a testimony to the disciples and to us that he no longer was dead, but is now alive. Never let someone preach to you that the resurrection of Jesus is metaphor, or a dream-like experience—anything other than a belief in the bodily resurrection is a sham and goes against the clear witness of the scriptures. Now it should be noted that yes, we cannot touch and see Jesus as the first disciples did before his ascension. Does this mean that Jesus is no longer present with us bodily? Is he only with us spiritually? Far from it. We do confess that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. But that right hand of the Father is not a simple location. The right hand of the Father is wherever God’s power is at work. This way Christ continues to be present to those who believe in him not only in a spiritual, divine manner….but also in a physical, human manner. He’s physically present in the water poured over you at baptism. He’s physically present in your ears as someone declares forgiveness of sins over you. He’s physically present on your tongue as you receive the bread and wine of Holy Communion. Through these ways, Christ continues to stand among his disciples, which is for him to stand before you—that you may touch, hold, see, hear, and taste that he is with you bodily. This is why Christ has a concern that you not only know of him, but you believe and trust in him. It is faith alone that grasps the God as he wants to be known--through Christ—revealed through the word, through baptism, through communion, through the absolution.
After assuring his disciples that it is indeed him himself who stands among them, he moves on to remind them what he taught them while he was still with them. Jesus says, “that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). When he says the law of Moses it is shorthand for saying, the first five books of the Old Testament—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. When he says “the prophets, and the psalms” Jesus means basically the rest of the Old Testament. Now many people have it in their minds that the God of the Old Testament is mean and we only get a nice God once we come to the New Testament. The fact of the matter is, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is identical. It is the same God. Both testaments witness to a God who is angry with sin and punishes it (this is the Law), and both testaments witness to a gracious God who looks past and forgives sin (this is the Gospel). The Law, which condemns sin, is meant to wake us up to our own ungodliness and then to drive us to Christ. The gospel, on the other hand, witnesses that Christ alone is our righteousness. Which means Christ alone is the one who brings us to God on good terms.
When Jesus is opening the minds of the disciples he says, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name” (Luke 24:46-47). Here we see that everything in the scriptures centers in the suffering Messiah and his resurrection. If a book or teaching does not spring from this it simply does not hold authority. Through this Messiah who suffered and then was raised from the dead comes the necessity to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins. This means that to be a disciple to be radically changed, to be transformed. We no longer live according to our own will, but according to God’s will. One theologian has said, “The most vital enemy of God is not so much the ‘godless sinner’ as the ‘righteous’ who are absorbed in their own ideas of law and moral progress.” God’s call for repentance is pointed at all people. But God’s call for repentance is most offensive to us when we think we have nothing that needs to be changed and are perfectly fine as we are. But change we must. We all need to be transformed by God. And not just in a little bit, or in that bit, but in all that it means to be who we are. Jesus, the Messiah, died and rose again for sinners. It is the righteous who will reject him. But sinners, those who know they have nothing good in themselves, it is sinners who God chooses draw to himself, to that they may be transformed, and thus given forgiveness of sins. And so, if you are a sinner, believe in Christ. For he is your righteousness. For his sake you are forgiven. Here and now this forgiveness comes by grace, through faith, on account of Christ, apart from your works. You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:48).
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Living In Christ: Witnesses of His Resurrection
Living In Christ: Witnesses of His Resurrection
April 18, 2021, 3rd Sunday of Easter
Theme: “Living in Christ: Witnesses of His Resurrection”
Homily by Fr. Erel Villanueva
First Reading: Acts 3 : 12 – 19
Second Reading: 1 John 3 : 1 – 5
Psalm Reading: Psalm 4 : 1 – 7
Gospel Reading: Luke 24 : 36b – 48
We, as Christians, must be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus not just in words but in the way we live our lives. Let us not allow…
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Cover to Cover Questions. Week 15.
Take time individually, as a family, or in a small group to read the Scriptures and answer the questions.
Easter Reading: Acts 3:12-19
List the facts about Jesus that Peter mentions.
What does Peter accuse the people of doing?
What does Peter ask the people to do?
Psalm: Psalm 4
What four things does David ask God for in verse 1?
What outcome does David expect?
Why is David so confident?
What can we learn from this psalm?
New Testament: 1 John 3:1-7
What are the implications for our self image from verse 1?
What does John teach about sin?
When you sin how do you make it right with God?
Gospels: Luke 24:36b-48
How is “peace be with you” a good summary of the gospel?
Why are the disciples having such difficulty believing?
What task does Jesus give them?
Next week’s verses… Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
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Clinging to the Ghosts of the Past
Clinging to the Ghosts of the Past
Luke 24:36b-48 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Read the whole passage) Today it is the still the day of…
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