Luke 24:36-48 (NRSV)
Read Luke 24:36-48 on biblegateway.com
Verse 36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." Verse 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Verse 38He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Verse 39Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." Verse 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Verse 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" Verse 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, Verse 43and he took it and ate in their presence. Verse 44Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Verse 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, Verse 46and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, Verse 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Verse 48You are witnesses of these things.
Devotion
I once preached a sermon in which I said that I do not believe in ghosts. In the following week, I think I heard every ghost story that existed in the congregation! My disbelief led to some pretty passionate storytelling.
The disciples in Luke 24 see the post-resurrection Jesus and are stunned into disbelief. First, their disbelief leads them to fear, then, to joy.
Through it all, Jesus stands with the disciples, showing them his hands and feet, sharing a meal. He reminds them of his teachings. He turns them back to re-imagine scripture. He ignites in them the power of his story: his life and ministry, death and the tomb, and resurrection from the dead.
We all know what happens next, some pretty passionate storytelling, the kind that changes the world. Forever.
Prayer
O Lord, may our own storytelling of the faith be passionate and powerful. Give us passion for the evangelism that we know can change the world again. Amen.