| While they were talking about
this, 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 flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And
when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his
feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still
wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything
here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled
fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then
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.” 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.” |
|
| Luke 24:13-49 |
| At the Festival of Faith and Writing last week I had the
opportunity to hear a number of accomplished writers of faith
issues in small group settings and large assemblies. Marilynne
Robinson gave one of the keynote lectures titled “Good
Faith”. Robinson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize last
year for her novel Gilead, which chronicles the life of a dying
Reverend John Ames through letters he pens to his young son.
I read her novel last May for a conference with other young
ministers. Reading Gilead and the discussions about the novel
at the new minister’s conference helped me to discern
my call to serve here at Central! John Ames spent a lot of
his time in “Not Urgent, but Important” mode as
a pastor in a very small, depressed Midwest town. He read and
studied and walked around town a good deal of his day. His
ministry is a somewhat idealistic vision of pastoral ministry.
It seemed sheltered to the group of young ministers who read
the novel together; like the life of a cloistered monk or nun.
Though his life had become one with his job with little to
no separation or boundaries, I was still inspired by his diligence
toward his ministry in a collapsing economy. I thought Robinson’s “Good
Faith” lecture might be about Gilead, but it wasn’t.
Instead she unfolded during a challenge to today’s writers
to do the hard work of writing with “Good Faith” assumptions
toward their readers. |
| Good faith in Robinson’s use of the term meant that
writers and preachers must not cater to popular culture’s
demands for fluff. In good faith the author writes to pursue
truth and challenges the reader to think critically. In particular
Robinson highlighted the hard work of the writer to deconstruct
any rhetoric intended to shade the truth for the comfort of
the masses in mainline writing, media and politics. Robinson
challenged young writers to avoid fluff, pulp fiction, catering
to cynicism and cultural whims. Writing in good faith invites
the reader to search and yearn with the writer for the something
more! |
| She cited John Calvin, Luther, and many early reformers who
broke the mold of their time by writing and speaking in their
vernacular to congregations full of commoners and peasants,
but did not dumb down their theology or sermons. No, she said,
they invited their listeners to join them for a journey to
grow in faith together as they delved into the Word together.
The modern writer, said Robinson, must assume the reader wants
to be challenged and taken on a journey otherwise all is lost. |
| I brought today’s lectionary readings to the conference
and had them in the back of my mind during the lecture. Robinson’s
use of the term “good faith” as a metaphor for
a writer’s approach to their reader got me thinking about
the way the gospel writers share the story of Jesus’ resurrection
accounts. Luke and the gospel writers
have a unique approach to their writing in respect to their
readers. The gospels don’t
reflect to their readers the “good faith” principle.
They placed good faith, not in the reader, but in God. In relaying
the gospel, respect for the reader must highlight what God
has done and take seriously our condition of sin. It’s
not that the gospel writers don’t respect their reader,
but faith is placed squarely in what God has done, because
of lack of right response. The reader does not have the ability
to fully follow the gospel’s call—ever! The gospel
paradox is that the evangelists are quite sure their readers
will continue to flub up much in life. When Jesus appears as
their living Lord the disciples are not immediately transformed
into saints! No—the good news is good—because it
comes again and again to all who are in desperate need of it.
It comes to those who ponder it and don’t quite understand.
All of us! |
| The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance put
it this way, “The ancient biblical narratives about the
resurrection of Jesus contain a mixture of ecstasy and despondency,
an intermingling of delight and discouragement. Just as news
of Christ's resurrection caused an explosion of joy among some
believers, other believers experienced an erosion of hope.
The gospels do not demand that we understand Christ. Rather,
they offer the burden-lightening insight that Christ understands
us…This one who inspires magnificent visions also ministers
amid shattered dreams. This one known as the Prince of Peace
does not shy away from chaos and conflict. This one who taught
us to pray accepts people who are so troubled that they can't
pray. This one who offers salvation identifies with people
confounded by feelings of lostness. This one who offers unmatched
encouragement knows better than any other the depths of discouragement.” |
| Even after three different resurrection appearance accounts
to different disciples, we learn that in our passage the disciples’ joy
was tempered with disbelief and wonder. “They were startled
and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.” To
this response Jesus invites, “Touch and see.” Luke
does not have “good faith” in their ability to
grasp all that has happened right away…but he does take
his readers seriously and he challenges them in the reality
of the lives they lead. The gospels invite us on a lifelong
journey! The journey to claim the promise that God loves and
forgives sinners. The realization that we can never understand
all the mysteries of faith, but that it is enough to have it. |
| God knows better than we do our need for mercy. God comes
again and again to us, throwing caution and good faith principles
to the wind, knowing that we often lack understanding and appropriate
response. God’s disregard for holding one accountable
to a good faith principle distinguishes God from us! God invites
us on the journey of transformation with the promise of new
life each step of the way. |
| Can we mirror God’s way of loving without assurance
of a return? Well, we enact God’s ways of grace when
we baptize infants. We ask the parents questions, and ourselves
questions too. Will you raise your child in the faith? Will
we as a church commit the time, attention, care and money to
support our children and teens’ formation in the Christian
life? We all say yes. Sometimes we keep our promises, sometimes
we don’t. There is no guarantee either of us will live
out our promises. The underlying trust is in God! We believe
God will always be with the child or adult. We proclaim to
the baptized that God will be there for them when both the
church family and the family of origin let down our promises. |
| Jesus lived and died. God raised him. Jesus returned to us
as our living Messiah, opening the scriptures to those disciples
again and again until it started to click with them. All this
work of God took place, because nothing has ever fundamentally
changed about humanity and our condition. We need forgiveness,
mercy, redemption, wholeness and salvation. God is and always
has been willing to accept us and love us without a “good
faith” assurance that we will respond appropriately.
The promises of God are for us no matter what we’ve done
or where we’ve been. We falter, we betray, we lie, we
cheat, we turn our backs on God. Yet God reaches out to us
like the father did to not only his prodigal son, but also
to his irritated older son that was jealous of the father’s
love for the wayward child. This is good news! We are witness
to it. May our lives be shaped to look more and more like God’s
love, which does not rest upon a good faith principle but upon
mercy, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation and ultimate redemption. |
| Amen |
| Beth E. Godfrey - April 30, 2006 |
| Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, New
York |
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