Christ resurrected, appearing in power to His disciples in different settings to encourage them and give them “marching orders” . All of this is very familiar. What wasn’t familiar was the short sentence that seemed so out of place…
I have to smile this morning at all of as as Christians. We think we know the story because we’ve had it written down in front of us for centuries. Here it is: a first hand report of what Jesus said and did…and we’ve studied it, preached on it, and perused it many times. So often in fact, that we can quote large portions of it from memory. What I sometimes fail to remember is that what is written is actually a very small part of the story. It is enough to help us understand the major disciplines of the faith, and I’m not saying that we lack any information critical to our faith…..but we can’t possibly know everything that Jesus said and did….on even a single day. Even on the day of the crucifixion, or the day the loaves and fish were multiplied…we have an incomplete account.
That realization was thrown into my face today when I read Luke 24:34 where the disciples who were on the Emmaus road reported back that Jesus had already appeared to Peter. It is widely accepted in the Church that Jesus appeared to the disciples for the first time in the room where they were gathered together listening to the report of the 2 Emmaus disciples. Thomas was absent at that meeting, but Peter was present. But that is likely NOT how it all “went down”. Wow. If that verse doesn’t change your mind, then read 1 Cor 15:4-5. It says there “he was seen by Peter THEN by the twelve.”
What difference does it make? Well, the scholarly world marvels at this little tidbit; let me tell you why. There must have been quite a story associated with Christ’s appearing to Peter, since this would make Him the first one to see Jesus resurrected. And yet, Scripture is almost silent on the account. There is only an acknowledgement that Jesus did appear to him, but nothing is made of it, and Peter himself doesn’t mention it. The reason that’s so interesting is that Peter is widely accepted as the founder of the Church in Rome, and that would make him the father of Catholicism. As I have mentioned before, the current Pope is always believed to have the same authority as the Apostle and spirit as Peter. The catholic church wouldn’t say “reincarnation” but it’s hard to imagine what they are describing without using that word. Anyway, if the catholic church had an account of Peter seeing Jesus before everyone else and in which Jesus gave him some mandate (it could have happened) then it would further solidify their position as the authentic church. However, even though this account would be very interesting….no mention is made of it. Isn’t THAT interesting. So, scholars are left to wonder why would such a key story be left untold? There must be a reason, and perhaps the reason is that it would have led to christian cults that followed Peter.
The larger, more important theme in today’s reading is the constant hearing of God’s teaching with no acquired wisdom. We sat under the teaching of godly men from Moses down through all the prophets, learning about how the Messiah would act, and what He would do….and still didn’t recognize Him when He came. Mary didn’t recognize Him in the garden…and she loved Jesus. She hung on Him and cried about how He was dead….you have to imagine Jesus smiling as He stroked her hair and patiently waited for His turn to talk….so He could tell her to quit crying….”I’m alive”. And then there’s the two disciples who cannot recognize Jesus as He walks with them. The Bible tells us they were prevented from recognizing him, but the point is valid….we have a hard time seeing what’s right in front of us. Jesus himself said so in Luke 24:25 when He said “you foolish people! You find it so hard to believe…” I can’t count the number of church services I sat through in my life…doing everything except listening to the minister. I have probably heard enough Biblical teaching before I was 8 years old to guide me all through my spiritual life…but I didn’t listen to it, or receive it. In fact, God’s Word would be poured over me like a waterfall for many years and I would be as resistant as an old tree stuck in the rocks with water cascading over it. I should have become a ship that was carried along by the movement of the steady stream of God’s Word, but I was too thick headed. The only good news is that finally (praise God) people like me can finally be transformed if they keep receiving long enough. That has to be the work of the Holy Spirit, right?
It almost seems anticlimatic to muse about these “side topics” when reading such a brilliant, life changing piece of God’s story. Perhaps a better use of my reflection time would have been to ponder in awe the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead, or to marvel at God’s forgiving nature and patience in dealing with Peter, or his patience and understanding with Thomas. I mean, there’s just so much to marvel at…
And we don’t even have the whole story.
Faithfully,
PR