Luke 24:44-53

You gotta move it slowly,

Take and eat my body like it’s holy.

I’ve been waiting for you for the whole week,

I’ve been praying for you, you’re my Sunday candy.

-”Sunday Candy,” Chance The Rapper

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus only appears to the disciples twice after the resurrection. Both of those appearances are in Luke 24 and both of those post-resurrection appearances are thick with Eucharistic imagery. The first appearance is set on the road to Emmaus; the second in Jerusalem. While the settings may differ the similarities between the two appearances are strong.

Both stories begin with the disciples having difficulty understanding the events that had just happened. In the two stories, Jesus appeared to people but they did not recognize him as the risen Jesus (vv. 16, 37). In both appearances Jesus scolded them for their doubts (vv. 25, 38) while reassuring them that God was at work to fulfill His purposes. Finally, both stories tell of food shared with Jesus, followed by awe and joy (vv. 32, 34, 41).

The structural similarities appear to be intentional. It’s like Luke structures his telling of the story in this way in order to clue us as the readers to his concerns. While a reading of this passage raises many – confusion about the resurrected Jesus, how does Judaism relate to emerging Christianity, and others – this reflection will focus on the issue that seems most central to my reading: the mission of the followers of Jesus in the absence of Jesus.

The lectionary reading begins with Jesus saying to his disciples that “everything must be fulfilled.” Fulfillment, for Luke, is a major theme. The beginning of his gospel dedicates a good chunk of time connecting the births of John and Jesus with the Old Testament. It appears that Luke wants to make clear to his readers that the God who was at work in the Old Testament is the same God at work in these events. Fast forward to the end of his gospel and the message remains: the continuity between the law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms and the risen Jesus.

Fulfillment, for Luke, means that while the resurrection of Jesus is new and while the message may appear to be new, it is completely consistent with what the Old Testament says about God. Therefore Jesus is the embodiment of the God to whom the Old Testament points and the God that the disciples had been anticipating. Luke goes out of his way to help us as the reader understand.

One more point of connection. In both resurrection appearances by Jesus in Luke 24 the disciples are unable to understand that the Scriptures have been fulfilled. They do not and can not recognize that Jesus is the very embodiment of the God they’ve been anticipating on their own. They can only be made to understand as God enables them.

Jesus has to “open their minds” so they can understand the testimony of the Scriptures: the Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead, repentance for forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations. What was written and had been anticipated was now fulfilled.

He does and apparently the disciples now understand that the grand arc of scripture is fulfilled in the person of Jesus. The risen Jesus is the God the disciples had always been anticipating.

Now, as Luke says, the disciples are witnesses to these things. It’s all been fulfilled so disciples of Jesus are called to witness to the redemptive activity of God in Jesus. God opens the minds of His disciples so that we recognize the fulfillment of the whole thing in the risen Jesus and can witness to His mission. It’s all been fulfilled so disciples of Jesus are sent into the world to witness to a suffering God who calls anyone without discrimination to respond.

But, according to Luke, not yet. That is not the disciples mission yet. First, they wait.

You gotta move it slowly,

Take and eat my body like it’s holy.

I’ve been waiting for you for the whole week,

I’ve been praying for you, you’re my Sunday candy.

The primary posture of followers of Jesus in the absence of Jesus is to pause. It is to stay and wait. Jesus says that He will send his disciples what the Father has promised but first, in the meantime, stay and wait.

As a pastor, may I make a confession? It’s way easier to motivate people with a cause and much more enjoyable to close a worship gathering with a clear and convicting message that everything has been fulfilled and we’re sent to do it and here are the steps how you can be involved than it is to invite people to stay and wait.

Yet, Luke makes it clear that the message of Jesus to his followers in His absence is to stay and wait. Just as Luke clearly communicates that the followers of Jesus can not understand or recognize Jesus without God’s help Luke also makes it clear that we cannot do what God has called us to do unless we stay and wait for the enabling presence of God.

If Pentecost is the day we receive the enabling presence of God and are sent into the world to witness, Ascension Sunday is the day we move slowly. It’s the day we wait for it. The day we are made aware that it’s all been fulfilled but we first stay and wait.