St. Johns Lutheran Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Know Christ. Love Christ. Serve Christ.
April 14, 2024
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
From Fear to Faith
Fight, flight, or freeze: that’s how our bodies tend to react when we perceive danger. Our heart rate increases, our breathing speeds up, and even our vision changes to take in our surroundings quickly so we can protect ourselves. When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of his resurrection, they seemed to be in the middle of a fight, flight, or freeze response. Their Lord had been crucified. They didn’t know what to do next. When Jesus suddenly stood among them, they froze in shock and fear. Jesus overcame the disciples’ fright by showing his hands and feet and by eating a piece of fish. As they looked at the scars and watched him eat, the truth of his resurrection dawned on them. The disciples’ inclination to fight, flee, or freeze melted away.
Once Jesus had brought the disciples back to a calm resting state, he opened their minds to understand how he had accomplished God’s plan to save the world. Jesus told the disciples that now that he was risen, it was their turn to tell his story in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. Joy started to flicker in the disciples’ hearts as Jesus freed them from fear. He gave them a purpose: to be his witnesses. They were to free others by sharing the good news that Jesus had died and risen again to forgive their sins and give the gift of eternal life to all who believe.
In our world today, many voices spread fear. It’s easy to focus on those voices, feel overwhelmed, and freeze. But Jesus came to free us from fear and to free us for faith. Receiving the bread and wine of his supper reminds us that Jesus lived, died, and rose again for our salvation. We don’t have to be afraid of anything. Holy communion strengthens us to be his witnesses and to do his work in the world so others can be set free by the good news of Jesus’ love
From sundaysandseasons.com.
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Although Mark’s account of the empty tomb stated that the risen Jesus was to be seen in Galilee, at least a decade later, Luke, who described the Christian movement as beginning in Jerusalem and extending throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, tells of the risen Jesus appearing to disciples in and around Jerusalem. To demonstrate the reality of the resurrection, Luke’s story tells of Jesus eating broiled fish (food more common in Galilee than in Jerusalem). Yet his risen presence is different from his prior living presence among them (v.44). Luke’s narrative concludes with a summary of original apostolic preaching: Jesus is the messiah, foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures, who suffered, died, and rose to the forgiveness of sins, to which we are witnesses.
For Luke, the Spirit of the resurrection continues in the community of believers. Thus Peter has healed the crippled beggar (3:1-10) with the power of the name of the risen Christ. The sermon ascribed to Peter at the temple exemplifies the growing antagonism between Christian believers and the Jewish religious establishment. In this example of apostolic preaching, the Jew Peter blames “Israelites” for Jesus’ death, yet forgiveness of sins (a strong Lucan emphasis) has come about through God’s use of this rejection. Luke’s openness to the Gentile mission is shown in that the Roman authority Pilate is exonerated.
The Son became like us, so that in the end—which the writer of 1 John anticipates as arriving soon—we will be like the Son, children of God. This passage exemplifies the Johnanine epistles’ use of opposite extremes: God vs. the world, love vs. sin, then vs. now, lawlessness vs. purity. The writer assumes, or at least envisions, a perfected and loving believing community