April 6, 2008
Luke 24 36-49
“A Hungry Messiah”

And now, a reading from the lost testament of Fibulus:

“While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Be Afraid! Be very afraid!” They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “You are! You should be frightened and afraid. Look at my hands and my feet; you can see right through them. Try to touch me and see that I am a ghost who does not have flesh and bones as you once saw that I had… Then he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him an olive, and it dropped right through him to the floor. They screamed with fright, and all ran from the house, every last one of them, never to mention Jesus' name again. Thus ends the reading.

Prayer

I'm captivated by this particular story of the resurrected Jesus. Oh, I mean the one Claire read earlier. It's the second half of the more familiar “Walk To Emmaus” story, which I have preached on several times before. What enchants me the most in this, the lesser known second half of the story, is Jesus' question: “Have you anything here to eat?” It is such a human request, such a tangible way to prove that, unlike the figure in the lost testament of Fibulus, the resurrected Christ was fully a body, unquestionably flesh and bone.

And this wasn't the first time Jesus ate following his resurrection. In the first half of this text in Luke, he was revealed as the Christ at a table in Emmaus. In John's gospel, Jesus is on the seashore and invites the disciples to share breakfast with him. Clearly, being flesh and blood post-resurrection, was vital to Jesus. And, of course, the story of Thomas, who was also invited to touch the risen savior's wounds, reminds us that being flesh and blood, being embodied, meant something, means something.

So, what are we to do to help feed a hungry Messiah? What do we do to put flesh onto the Resurrected Christ? I would like to propose that the three faithful commitments this congregation is exploring are tangible ways Franklin Circle Christian Church can “feed” a hungry Messiah, and “put flesh on” a Resurrected Christ.

Through the prayerful work of the Board of Elders, our congregation has begun the exploration of what it means to become, in word and deed, these three things:
-- An Anti-Racist, Pro-Reconciling Congregation, committing itself as a community to deal forthrightly, honestly, and faithfully with the history and reality of racism and committing itself to eradicating its presence in our lives and becoming truly reconciled in Christ;
-- An Open & Affirming Congregation, fully welcoming all of God's children, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender;
-- An Accessible Congregation, which seeks in heart and mind, programs and facilities to be accessible to those with many different physical and mental abilities, and who are a variety of ages and physical conditions.

But today, because of two very important recent events, I want to focus on the first way we feed a hungry Messiah, and put flesh onto a Resurrected Christ: fighting racism. I want to focus on this today because of the recent media offensive on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, and pastor to Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. I feel compelled to respond to the distorted, simplistic, and inaccurate racial diatribe resulting from the so-called “revelations” about Rev. Wright. Our United Church of Christ brothers and sisters have responded, inviting us all to a more reasonable conversation about race, racism, and religion.

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, a Disciples of Christ pastor and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, pointed out that the issues raised around Trinity affect churches across the country. "One of those issues is race," he said. “The frustration heard in the clips of Rev. Wright is one voice (and not an isolated one) in ... a 'sacred conversation' we need to have -- as churches, as a society." (1)

But I also feel compelled to talk about our congregation's discussions about becoming an intentionally Anti-Racist, Pro-Reconciling Congregation because I have been at Camp Christian this week, with Janelle Eccleston from our church, who is still there, as well as with members of Kemper Rd. Christian Church in Cincinnati and the Ohio Regional Anti-Racism Team. There, we are learning what it takes to create a team of folks to help educate and organize our church in ways that help us to avoid re-establishing racism and in becoming truly reconciled one to another. In addition to Janelle, we already have on board for this team Brenda Torrey and Michelle Brown. I would be very interested in talking with others who can make this significant commitment.

Now, lest you unfairly charge me with bringing politics to the pulpit, let me remind you that the work we are doing to become Anti-Racist/Pro-Reconciling, Open & Affirming, and Accessible To All is the work of faith, it has ample biblical mandates, and is simply the right thing to do.

In seeking a new king, the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance, or the height of his stature… for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Isaiah reminds us God's stern edict, “For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples… says the Lord God who gathers the outcasts…” Jesus said to the Canaanite woman who reminded him that “even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master's table,” that “Great is your faith, let it be done as you wish.” Peter preached to other Christians, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” And, in a moment of poetic rapture, Paul wrote, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

THIS is what it means to feed a hungry Messiah! THIS is what it means to put flesh on a Resurrected Christ! To openly, honestly, and thoroughly address the issues which have plagued us as a people and threatened to destroy us as a nation.

This work of Anti-Racism will not be easy. There are several necessary steps we will have to take, and it will involve all of us: leaders, members, staff, friends, and visitors alike. We will have to:
> First and foremost, admit there is a problem, that racism still exists and affects each one of us, white, black, brown, everyone, in terrible and often unrecognizable ways;
> Explore and understand more fully the history of racism in this country, as well as the amazing history of resistance that people of color have lived in response to oppression;
> Make the distinction between personal prejudice, which many of us have so worked hard to eradicate, and systemic injustice, which is insidious, much more all-encompassing, and is beyond the reach of any single individual;
> Realize that we cannot “educate” or “train” racism away, for it isn't a “bad habit,” that simply needs to be unlearned. It is an evil that must be eradicated and takes very different skills and techniques.
> We must hear the voices of People of Color, even when those voices share anger and frustration, even when the very basis of our worldview is challenged;
> Examine not only our own hearts, but the heart of this institution we know and love called Franklin Circle Christian Church in order to adjust its policies, programs, and structures to ensure that racism is banished and never takes hold again.

This will be hard work, but it will be good work. It will be good work because if this congregation is ever going to live up to its own best image and our motto, “Widening The Circle For All God's Children,” it will have to face its racism.

More importantly, this work will be rewarding because as we engage in it, those who have felt the sting of injustice and oppression, especially people of many different colors and ethnicities who continue to cry out at the legacy and reality of racism, will enter our sanctuary and see and feel the risen Christ in our midst. They will know that this is a place where the hungry Messiah is fed and the Resurrected Christ has flesh and blood, because when they reach out, they will touch each and every one of us and know that we embody the living Christ.

If there was ever a question about whether or not God blesses our bodies, today's biblical passage should leave no doubt. If the God of all creation, of heaven and earth and all that was, is, and will be, chose to return in resurrected glory in a body, filled with hunger and bloodied and bruised by human sin; if God chose resurrection to be in bodily form, then our bodies can't be all that bad. Whether bent or broken, ill or healthy; tall, short or in-between; hungry or fulfilled; pinkish white, rich caramel brown; or dark as night; God blesses our bodies because Christ is a real body.

How do we put flesh onto the Resurrected Christ? We do the hard but critical work as individuals and as a community of truly becoming Anti-Racist and Pro-Reconciling. We do this not because it is the fad, or even fashionable. We don't do this because it is “politically correct,” although it is the correct political thing to do. We become Anti-Racist and Pro-Reconciling because it is the faithful thing to do. It puts flesh and bones on the risen Christ. As Christians, we do it because it is what Jesus would have us do. As people of faith, we do it because it is what God would have us do. As residents of a representative democracy, we do it because it is what good citizens do.

How do we feed a hungry Messiah? We do the hard but critical work as individuals and as a community of truly becoming an Open & Affirming Congregation. We do this not because it is the fad, or even fashionable. We don't do this because it is “politically correct,” although it is the correct political thing to do. We become Open & Affirming because it is the faithful thing to do. It puts food in the stomach of a hungry Messiah. As Christians, we do it because it is what Jesus would have us do. As people of faith, we do it because it is what God would have us do. As residents of a representative democracy, we do it because it is what good citizens do.

How do we put flesh onto the Resurrected Christ? We do the hard but critical work as individuals and as a community of truly becoming an Accessible Congregation. We do this not because it is the fad, or even fashionable. We don't do this because it is “politically correct,” although it is the correct political thing to do. We become Accessible because it is the faithful thing to do. It puts flesh and bones on the risen Christ. As Christians, we do it because it is what Jesus would have us do. As people of faith, we do it because it is what God would have us do. As residents of a representative democracy, we do it because it is what good citizens do.

Like the disciples, I am terrified by what our risen savior expects of us. I'd almost prefer he was the ghost reported in Fibulus' testament. But he's not. He's a flesh and blood and bone Christ who is hungry for justice. Who will feed a hungry Messiah? We will, when we “hate evil and love good, and establish justice at the gate.” Who will put flesh on the Risen Christ? We will, when finally, justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.” (Amos 5:15 & 24)

Let this be our Easter song!



(1) "Church Leaders Defend Trinity UCC's Ministry And Call For A 'Sacred Conversation' On Race"  at http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080403trinity.html


Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2008 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096