Ann hopes to see you on Sunday at 10:30 am. Many will watch via livestream, Sunday or another day. We are grateful to our AV team: Barry Paton, Rob Steeves, Steve Morley, Glen Knapp, & Penny Allen. Here is a link to the service:
Ann Bradley is preaching at Bethany this Sunday morning, as I am at Trinity United Church in Timberlea, preaching at 11 am. As their Supervising Minister (Timberlea and Goodwood), I am required to be present for their Annual General Meeting, that follows worship.
In the post-resurrection story Luke 24:36-48 tells, Jesus does two things to dispel the skepticism of his disciples, each speaks to the witness he calls us to bear to the world. First, Jesus shows his friends his hands and feet. It’s easy to gloss over this detail. His hands and feet bear unmistakable signs of his crucifixion, his vulnerability. They’re not mended. His are fresh wounds, still raw. In her book, The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability, theologian Nancy Eiesland reminds us Jesus’ injuries remain an essential part of his resurrected identity, neither divine punishment nor an opportunity for further healing. What would it be like to lead with our scars, instead of enslaving ourselves to society’s expectations of piety and prettiness? Jesus proved that he was alive and approachable by risking real engagement.
The second thing Jesus does in this week’s Gospel is he expresses hunger. “Have you got anything to eat?” he asks his bewildered disciples, and when they hand him a piece of broiled fish, he eats it in their presence. Simply by expressing hunger, inviting hospitality, Jesus turns a meal into communion. Instead of offering Jesus food, water, shelter, or comfort, they pulled away, keeping themselves aloof because they were suspicious and afraid. Jesus reminds them of their most fundamental calling, leading with vulnerability, “Friends, I’m hungry. Would you please feed me?”
May we be witnesses of these things.