04/14/2024 ~ Third Sunday of Easter ~ *Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/935985925

Panic and Fright

“…Jesus stood among them, stood in their midst and said: ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, in panic and fright;….” — Luke 24:36b-37a.

I think I have said this before. On occasion people accuse me of being a scholar. Perhaps I get accused of that because I sport a well trimmed beard.

You see, stereotype held onto by many in our society says if you have a well trimmed beard you look like a professor, a scholar. Have a beard? You must be a scholar. Not! There’s a difference between looking like a scholar and being a scholar.

One way I deny scholar status is I point out the first time I had a sit down, behind a desk, 9 to 5 job… I was 35. Of course, at 35 I probably needed to sit down. And yes, I was a writer and songwriter in theater and theatrically related projects before that. And yes, generally, one writes at a desk.

But I need to note my involvement in theater was not confined only to writing. My theater life spread out over a multitude of areas.

To list just a few, I worked as a director. So I worked with actors, set designers and lighting designers. I worked as a stage manager Off-off Broadway. One rarely sits down doing that. I was the business manager for a children’s theater, often standing backstage as the show played.

I worked for the theatrical charity, the Actors’ Fund of America. That had me constantly running all over Times Square. What I am really saying is I was not stationed behind a desk very often. I was a body in motion.

I present this list of evidence in an effort to refute the idea that I’m a scholar. On the other hand, one aspect of my personality to which I admit is that I constantly ask about the inner workings of things, constantly ask how things work.

I think asking “How did they do that?” is what drew me to theater. For me a key to theater is asking, “How did they do that?” I do admit to asking that kind of question sometimes also makes someone look like a scholar (when you ask how did they do that?) when that person really are is… is curious— curious— me.

So… let me share where some of my curiosity has taken me in the study of Scripture. These days it feels like there are a multitude of translations of Scripture from the original languages into English. But there is a place to which the people who do these translations go to find out precisely what words they are or should be translating.

They seek guidance from a book which has a fancy Latin name, Textus Receptus. The title means ‘received text.’ What’s in that book?

Well, there are about 5,700 copies of ancient manuscripts of various sections of Scripture which scholars say are authoritative. There are more manuscripts than that but the others are not thought of as authoritative. The authoritative ones are given great credence, deference.

I do need to be clear about one thing concerning the content in that multitude of documents. If you compare two of the same section of Scripture, none of them, not a single one, contains exactly the same words.

That is where this Textus Receptus, the ‘received text,’ comes in. It contains the what scholars have agreed, after much study, after much debate, after serious collaboration should be the words which do get translated. By the way, please mentioned the Textus Receptus to anyone who thinks Scripture should be taken literally. That destroys the argument. (Slight pause.)

Well, let’s look at today’s reading and also look at the whole last Chapter of Luke, the 24th. At most services you usually hear only a small section of Scripture. Therefore, unless you are familiar with the rest of the story you don’t hear the context.

In Chapter 24 of Luke we get post-resurrection stories— plural, stories. As that chapter starts women go to the tomb and find it empty. Next we get the famous Road to Emmaus story with its vision of Christ.

The two disciples in that story rush back to the place where other disciples have gathered to tell the disciples the story of their encounter with the Risen Christ. They are, in turn, told the Risen Christ has appeared to Simon but in the text we don’t hear about that appearance.

As the story unfolds in today’s reading it says (quote:) “…Jesus stood among them, stood in their midst and said: ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, in panic and fright;….” (unquote).

For a moment I’d like to draw your attention to the words “startled and frightened, in panic and fright.” You remember that book to which I just referred, the Textus Receptus, the work which contains the words which get translated?

You will find “startled, terrified, panic and fright” in nearly every translation. Why? Scholars agree these words are in the underlying text, agree those who recorded Scripture used these words. Scholars are telling us Scripture insists the reaction of the disciples to the Risen Christ is to be startled, terrified, panicked, frightened.

In fact, when you look at all the post Resurrection stories this is a common theme. In that last chapter of Luke the women are at the tomb, see two figures dressed in dazzling garments and are described as being terrified.

The Emmaus travelers are not described as terrified. On the other hand, it says they did not recognized Jesus but when the Messiah spoke and explained the Scripture, their hearts were burning. Wow! There’s a reaction— hearts burning.

The Gospel called John famously has Thomas who doubted. Mark describes the women at the tomb as bewildered, trembling. Equally, the Gospel we know as Matthew just before Jesus ascends to heaven, the story says with the Risen Christ there in front of all the disciples some of them doubted. Wow! Just wow!

There are two other common threads in the post Resurrection stories. Jesus seems to appear and disappear. In today’s reading it even says the disciples think they are seeing a ghost. This frightens everyone.

The other common thread is, when Jesus is in their midst, these are the first words said by the Messiah. “Peace be with you.”

Contrary to populist belief, the words “Peace be with you” are not about there being a lack of conflict. “Peace be with you” is an invocation which proclaims the presence of God is there, the Spirit of God is with them. (Slight pause.)

All that once again brings us back to the Textus Receptus, the received text. Given that scholars say these words are and should be in the post Resurrection stories because these manuscripts carry authority, I think we can draw two conclusions.

First, fear and doubt are an important part of faith. After all, these are the words in the received text.

Again something contrary to populist belief, fear or doubt, these two, do not mean a lack of faith. We often fear what we can not fully explain or understand. And having doubt does mean we do need to trust what cannot be explained or understood.

Also, the very thing we need to trust, the thing expressed by the words “Peace be with you,” is that God is with us. God walks with us. God is present to us. Indeed, the proclamation of Easter says Christ is risen. God is in our midst. (Slight pause.)

So yes, the disciples were frightened by the presence of God. Yes, the disciples doubted the presence of the Risen Christ, even though Christ stood in their midst.

However, even when they doubted the presence of God, the presence of Christ, it still means they trusted. You see, the reality of the presence of God and the reality of the presence of Christ— this reality— is what wound up in the received text.

I think therefore we, today, are called to the same place. We are called to trust Christ is risen. We are called to trust God is present to us. Christ is risen; God is present— that— that— is our claim as Christians. Amen.

04/14/2024
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Today I surveyed the 24th and last Chapter of Luke. The work known as Acts is actually the second book of Luke. Scholars tell us the two were written by the same author or authors at the same time. We break Acts down into 28 chapters. I know a church that called its newsletter Chapter 29. Why? Well, we are, after all, called to a continue the work of God, the work of the Messiah. And our work is that which happens next. Our work happens after the 28th chapter of Acts. We are the 29th chapter.”

BENEDICTION: Let us place our trust in God. Let us go from this place to share the Good News as we are witnesses. And this is, indeed, the Good News: by God we are blessed; in Jesus, the Christ, the beloved of God, we are made whole. Let us depart in confidence and joy that the Spirit of God is with us and let us carry Christ in our hearts. Amen.