Sermons from St Faith's
Ghosts
Revd Denise McDougall, April 23rd, 2012
I don’t know if any of you enjoy films about ghosts, there are
certainly any number around to thrill, entertain and frighten. One
of my favourites called ‘Ghost’ begins with a happy couple who are
walking back to their apartment after a night out at the theatre.
The husband, Sam, however is murdered and finds himself trapped as a
ghost; but of course he can’t be seen or heard by the living because
ghosts are considered to be the disembodied presence of people who
have died and considered to still be dead.
The ancient world knew all about ghosts, visions, apparitions and
spooks and there were plenty of stories about people supposed to be
dead coming back to haunt or chat with the living. And even apart
from theatre and films in the modern world there are sculptures and
even puppets that stretch the imagination and challenge our
thoughts. You can’t have missed the spectacular event In Liverpool
this weekend; the three Giants – a 30ft ‘Little Girl’, her 50ft
uncle and her 20ft dog – all of whom have been journeying round the
City Centre and North Liverpool; they look pretty startling on first
sight and the imagination can play all sorts of tricks on us. I
couldn’t help but wonder what some of the younger children made of
them. Did they see them as real people, were they terrified by them
or did they go home puzzled or confused?
In our Gospel reading today we hear of the disciples’ difficulty
understanding the appearance of the risen Christ. Christ they knew
had been crucified on the cross but then not only did he appear
through locked doors join the disciples but he also asked for
something to eat. Was he real, was he an illusion, were they
imagining or misinterpreting what they saw? Yet because of the
scriptures, the saints and martyrs and over 2000 years of
Christianity we know that today’s Gospel reading is no ghost story
and that Christ appeared as a very real presence. Unlike us though
the disciples didn’t have the luxury of history and they struggle to
understand the unfolding drama in their lives.
Yet they didn’t try to suggest that Jesus’ appearance was some sort
of ancient phenomena and that was in fact a powerful testimony to
their thoughts and understanding about Christ appearing among them.
Scholars sometimes suggest that Luke and John who wrote in the 1st
Century were at pains to make Jesus’ resurrection appearances more
physical than they actually had been in order to combat the view
that Jesus’ wasn’t truly human but only seemed to be, a heresy known
as Docetism.
The disciples can’t be blamed for being puzzled and agitated and I’m
sure there isn’t anyone sitting in church this morning who can
honestly say that they have never had any doubts about their faith;
In fact I believe it is healthy to question our beliefs and reflect
carefully on our answers. Our journeys of faith would be immature
and shallow if we ignored any nagging doubts or obstacles that we
stumbled upon along the way. Understandably the disciples were
confused and needed reassurance just as we do too.
Jesus’ gentle reassurance came when he stood among them saying,
‘Peace be with you.’ and he asked them for something to eat. They
must have all eaten fish together on many occasions and the
disciples offered him some grilled fish. As they watched Jesus eat
they were now confronted with a new form of reality; Jesus had risen
from the dead. He isn’t alive in the same way as Jairus’s daughter
or Lazarus or in fact any of the numerous people who have stopped
breathing and then been resuscitated over time. Jesus had passed
through death and come through to the other side, in to a
world, that was a new and deathless creation. Yes, Jesus was still
physical in appearance but he was somehow transformed. And it was
then that the disciples began to believe and as they began to
believe they also began to understand. As St. Augustine said, ‘I do
not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to
understand.’
Christ’s new body belongs in both the dimensions of God’s creation,
heaven and earth; Christ’s body now inhibits both our space on earth
and God’s space in heaven; it is the model for future mission, the
future for Christianity and the source of power for life in the
present. The scriptures have been fulfilled and Jesus requires that
we, like the disciples understand them. Of course fulfilment
does not mean that predictions have come true but they have been
made complete or brought to fullness in Christ Jesus and Jesus
points the way to the whole mission of the Church. He commissions
the disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all
nations, the heart of our Christian faith.
Week after week in our Church services we are called to turn away
from sin and celebrate God’s forgiveness. Every Eucharist we
experience the dimensions of God’s creation the divine and the
human; every Eucharist, offers a down to earth sharing of a meal
together in the here and now but also a foretaste of the heavenly
kingdom. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist we meet the risen
Lord, every breaking and sharing of bread is an invitation to give
ourselves as completely as possible to God and surrender ourselves
to the power of his love. With willing and believing hearts and
minds we can be changed into his likeness and into the Easter mode
of being.
The Easter season is a time to reflect and leave our minds open to
the presence of the risen Christ in our day to day living; it is the
small things, the everyday occurrences, the moments of caring and
sharing and the reaching out to those in need that we are able to
show the risen Christ among us. By virtue of our baptism we are part
of the Easter mystery and so have a share in Christ’s dying and
rising to new life. These 50 days of Easter give us a time pay close
attention the Scriptures and deepen our understanding of God, is
revealed to all by the cross and resurrection and I pray that we may
be strengthened and sustained in our faith to continue to serve in
righteousness and truth.
Ghost stories have their day and fade; and I think ghosts are
supposed to fade at sunrise anyway, but we know that Jesus’
resurrection isn’t a ghost story to be readily dismissed but a story
that recognises Christ as divine and human, indissolubly united in
one perfect person as an eternal living presence in our lives and
offering us love, joy and hope for the days ahead.
Amen.
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