Easter 3B (Luke 24:36b-48)

Can you be resurrected now? What would be our response? We might assume that the resurrection is supposed to make us radically different from how we physically look now. Or it is something we can never accomplish in this life on earth, meaning it’s only available to the dead. But the gospel lesson this morning says otherwise. The resurrection is not some ethereal phenomenon or a paranormal event shrouded in mystery. It’s as tangible and real as the sensation of holding your loved one's hand or eating a meal as the risen Christ symbolically demonstrates in the gospel lesson. 

Let’s ask ourselves, “Why do we Christians seem to take the resurrection as something that doesn’t happen here in this life? Why is it so challenging to believe the resurrection can happen to us even before we die?” Jesus raises the same question, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” He hints that fear is what prevents us from experiencing the resurrection as real. What kind of fear would this be? While there are many types of fear, this particular fear that Jesus’ friends and we might resonate with is the fear of being changed into someone we cannot imagine ourselves to be even if it’s for the better. 

Can we envision ourselves acting differently from how we would usually behave? Suppose I’m extremely upset over something. I might lash out or take it on someone I’m most comfortable with. (It’s most likely our family member who becomes our punching bag. Why? Because we know they’ll still embrace us and will not leave us because of love.) When conditions are set, we are somehow programmed to act in the way we always do. Those who know our pattern of (unhealthy) behaviors would say, “I knew you were going to do that.” This is like limiting and drawing ourselves to stand behind the lines of who we are as well as who we can never be. We are not supposed to step outside these fabricated lines that we’re conditioned to behave. Fear sets up those lines not to cross and lures us to continue to act as we used to. No change means no fear. 

But this time, I want to do something different. I imagine myself choosing another path of patience and understanding. I’m not going to act out of rage. Instead, I choose to remain still while gently acknowledging there’s rage arising but keeping it at a distance. I see the gap between my stillness and rage. I can enjoy a sense of freedom in that gap I can actually be released from being entrenched in outrage. 

To jump over this hurdle of fear, Jesus suggests, is to “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see…” Don’t try to look at the hands of Jesus but your hands and feet. Touch them and see them. That’s where the resurrection takes place. It must begin with your body right here and right now. Look within.

Our gaze upon ourselves interiorly first leads us to raw feelings and thoughts. Yet, as we still the mind, that is, to see them pass by, the presence of God is revealed to us with a sense of peace. How we know the presence of God is near as Jesus’ good news proclaims is through our experience of peace within. As I mentioned some time ago, the presence of God and the resurrection are two sides of the same coin. 
Our encounter with the presence of God transforms us. In other words, we’re resurrected through, with, and in the presence of God. 

The resurrection in this sense isn't a distant concept detached from earthly life; rather, it's meant to be palpable, substantial, and discernible. It's an experience that transforms us in concrete and measurable ways. Who we once were and who we become after experiencing the resurrection are not the same. The profound impact of the resurrection is evident in the observable changes it brings to our lives. 

Then, I return to the question I raised at the beginning of my reflection. Can you be resurrected here and now? Yes, you can. The present moment constantly opens up for us to make the resurrection possible. This present moment is God’s present. What we’re called to do is to keep our present moment resurrected. Don’t just spend your present moment in a way you’re used to but skillfully, heedfully, and attentively examine your thoughts, words, and deeds. To this resurrection being embodied in our hands and feet, we are witnesses.