LIVING IN THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTION

                The Easter Season has passed. The special services are a memory. Easter Sunday has been recorded in the history books. But the reality of the resurrection goes on. The challenge for all of us is to live in the reality of the resurrection.

                After that amazing Sunday, when the reality of the resurrection was revealed, first to the women, then to the disciples, Jesus continued to appear for 40 days. He appeared to the disciples both in Jerusalem and back in Galilee. The disciples needed these extra, spiritual boosts to prepare them for what was ahead. They had some emotional baggage that they had to work through.

                Even though they knew the reality of the resurrection, the disciples were still discouraged and confused. They really didn’t know what to do next. For three years, Jesus had been their constant companion. They could depend upon him; they could lean on him. Now, everything had changed. Periodic appearances by Jesus were exciting, but they were countered by days and hours of going it alone.

                Eventually, the disciples decided that it was time to go back to their old way of life. John 21 records that Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John all went back to fishing. They labored all night, but caught nothing. Early in the morning, exhausted and defeated, as they were making their way back to shore, someone called out to them. “Any luck? Did you catch any fish?” A chorus of discouraged “nos” echoed back to the shore. Then the voice told them to cast their nets, one more time, on the right side of the boat. When they started to pull them back in, they could feel the weight increase. They pulled harder and faster and soon the boat was filling with fish; so many that they couldn’t get the net into the boat.

                As John struggled to pull the net in, he became aware that he had experienced this before. Suddenly he realized that it was Jesus standing on the shore. He turned to Peter and declared, “It’s the Lord!” Peter suddenly realized the truth as well, and so he took off his outer garment and dove into the water, swimming as fast as he could to the shore. The others followed dragging the net with them. Peter stood, dripping wet, gazing at Jesus, as he tended a small fire. Moments later the others arrived. Jesus broke the tension by telling Peter to bring some of the fish they had just caught. Peter helped haul in the net. Someone took the time to count the fish; 153!

                After breakfast, Jesus invited Peter to take a walk down the beach. Peter felt ashamed, defeated and disqualified. With directness, tempered by compassion, Jesus confronted Peter’s shame and reinstated him. “Peter, I am not done with you yet. There is much work to do and I need you to lead the way.”

                Sometime later, Jesus met with his disciples for the last time. It is recorded for us in Acts 1. Jesus restated his commission to these men who he had invest so much into. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 Then Jesus was taken up before their eyes into the clouds and he disappeared. Look carefully at what happened next.

                    They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

    Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.  Acts 1:10-14

                Did you see it? They were frozen, trying so hard to hold onto Jesus. God had to send two angels to break them out of the fog and to get them busy. “Don’t just stand here gazing up into the sky. Get busy doing what Jesus told you to do!”

                Easter is an amazing time of the year. It is the climax of the Church calendar. Many people will attend church on Easter Sunday. They figuratively gaze at the risen Lord, with awe and wonder. Yet, many of them will just go back to their old routines. Nothing will change. They need to be challenged to begin to live in the reality of the resurrection. In fact, we all do.

                For many of us in the church, there is a letdown after Easter Sunday. The big events are past. We breathe a sigh of relief and we return to business as usual. Instead, we need to hear the message of the angels. Stop standing around. Get to work. Now is the time to be those witnesses that Jesus commanded us to be, while the message of Easter is still fresh in everyone’s mind.