This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Easter where Jesus appears to the disciples in the Upper Room on the evening of Easter Sunday. The disciples were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost

Only the risen Christ Himself was able to conquer the fear, bewilderment and doubt of his disciples and to prepare them to enter the world as witnesses of the good news. Their witness to the public ministry of Jesus – his miracles, teaching, and divine power – are many. Their witness to the Resurrection consists of simple testimony: he saw him die, we buried him, he appeared to us – we touched him and he ate fish with us – and he ascended into the heavens. The witness relies on the witness and experience of the apostles and disciples.

The Resurrection is not something that can be subjected to empirical proof and verification. The foundation of the faith rests upon the experience of individuals and the community of believers. As one commentator noted, while we can no longer touch the hands or feet of Jesus, the ministry of the hands and feet of countless believers across the ages testified to the Lord’s living presence among the community. We may not be able to eat fish with Jesus, although his presence is there among the Lenten Friday fish fries, the soup kitchens, around the family dinner table, and gathered at the altar to celebrate the Eucharist. In this witness, Christ is present and the work of the Kingdom continues.

Even today it is only the risen Savior Himself who can banish all fear from our hearts, and give us the inward rest and peace to enable us to be living witnesses of Jesus. And all the spiritual equipment that we need, He gives us through the Spirit, already given to his church on that first Pentecost and to every believer in the sacraments and in prayer. We possess the divine strength for the task to which we have been called.

Image credit: Maesta altar piece, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308, Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain