My Holy Ground

A Reflection on the Gospel for April 18th, 2021:
Third Sunday of Easter

---

Luke
24.35-48

The two disciples told the eleven and their companions what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
​

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Jesus appeared in their midst; living, breathing, talking, and eating. They were, predictably, frightened, because for all they knew, He was a ghost! Who rises from the dead, anyway? And He asked them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” 

It is integral to the Christian faith that Jesus rose from the dead. If we do not believe this, our faith is not faith — it is belief in an important moral teacher, a great example for all of us. Unless we believe He is risen, He is not God. But there He was! Standing among them, after they had seen Him scourged, forced to carry His own cross. Crucified. Bloodied and humiliated; killed. Pierced. Buried in a tomb. 

If we read this passage from Luke with the eyes of one who was there, it becomes easier to see why the witnesses would be afraid. But what about for those of us who know the story, for we who have faith and believe, though we have not seen? Why is it frightening? Why do doubts arise in our hearts?

It is frightening to me for many reasons, but the one that comes to mind here is that of identity. If Jesus is God, if He lives — if He is who He says He is — then I am who He says I am. And who is that? 

I am His beloved.

I am His daughter; I am His disciple.

I am a sister to all of His children.

I am gifted. I am strong. I am worthy.

Doubts often arise in my heart about all these things. And if I’m honest, these things frighten me because they come loaded with great expectation. They come with an acknowledgment that I have a purpose to fulfill. They come with territory that is mine, upon which I am entitled to stand on my own two feet and defend. They come with responsibility, with unique demands that are mine alone, in every facet of my life. And if I believe that Jesus is God — if I believe that He came into the world to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life — I must live into this. This IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

To live these truths so that they become Life requires perseverance, humility, wisdom, and courage. The path to personal holiness is full of frightening and painful obstacles — these are the things of which I am frightened. But God has promised His grace and wisdom to those who ask for it. My sisters — take your places. Turn your beautiful, beloved faces toward Him and stand tall, on your own holy ground, in the truth of who He made you to be. The world needs us. His kingdom needs us.




Lindsay Elford
​

---