Joy, Not Security

Luke 24:36b-42

 

        Days after the resurrection, the disciples were a mess. A week earlier they had shared The Passover with Jesus. Now they grappled with three declarations Jesus made during that mystical meal:

This is my body broken for you.

        This is my blood shed for you.

                You will deny me before the morning light.

Each statement had played out right before their eyes. This should have been a time of rejoicing. Some women claimed they had encountered Jesus at the grave. Others reported seeing a man who resembled Jesus along the road to Emmaus. The evidence was mounting up; but so was the opposition. The disciples were caught between joy and alarm. Would their bodies be broken? Would their blood be shed? Even worse, would they deny having anything to do with Jesus? Their fears were real. The Romans and the Jewish Sanhedrin never agreed on anything and yet they had come to the same conclusion that Jesus needed to die. The disciples were not stupid. If sworn enemies could see eye to eye on the fate of Jesus, the disciples were probably next on the most wanted list. If they celebrated, they risked execution. If they remained silent, who would tell the truth? Can one ever find joy without taking a little bit of a risk?

Frightened and discouraged they decided to gather in the very place the last prophecies of Jesus had been uttered. John Le Carre would have celebrated the caution each disciple took to insure their security. They crept in the shadows, always double checking to make sure no one was following. When everyone was finally in the room, the door was shut, the dead bolt locked, and the latch at the top and bottom secured. They closed the curtains, blew out the candles and sat in the dark wondering what to do next.  No one spoke. No one dared. What if someone was listening?

Ever been so frightened of life that living is impossible? What a silly question! Yet don’t we go to great means to insure our lives are safe and secure? Think about it. How much money last month did you spend on car insurance? How about homeowners insurance? Add to that number health and life insurance. Some folks go so far to have their identities insured. We spend a lot of money and put a lot of trust in someone we have never met, believing if misfortune should occur, our lives and our possessions will be restored as if nothing happened. Is that trust well placed? The more important question is, “Do we really have peace of mind?”

A few years ago I was in San Antonio to celebrate the graduation of my daughter from graduate school. I was alone because Deb was attending our son’s graduation from college on the same day. Being too cheap to stay in a motel, I asked Martina if I could stay in her sister-in-law’s house for a day or two. Arrangements were made and I was given a key and the code for the alarm system. No one was home when I arrived. I went in the house, reset the alarm, and promptly remembered I had left the book I was reading on the front seat of my car. On reentering the house, all kind of alarms went off. I panicked. I punched in the code on the key pad, but to no avail. Then the phone rang. I picked it up and began to speak to a stranger who informed me the alarm system in the house had been breached. I wanted to say, “No Joke”, but the voice didn’t sound like someone with much of a sense of humor. The voice asked, “Are you the owner?” I tried to explain the situation. The voice asked, “Can you give me the backup code to your security system?” I re-explained my situation. The voice then asked, “What is the name of owner of the house?” I quickly responded, “Jenny.” The voice responded, “Last name please.” I had no clue. Here I was with no code, no last name, and no idea how I was going to explain to my daughter’s sister-in-law why the entire neighborhood was gathering on her front lawn. So I said to the voice. “If you will turn off the alarm, I will reinstate the code.” After a slight hesitation the voice said, “OK.” The alarm fell silent and all I could hear was a dial tone. The protector of Jenny’s universe had hung up and returned to whatever he was doing before I had rudely interrupted his afternoon.

So I ask you. Do the people to whom we have entrusted our livelihood really care what happens to us?

Remember those disciples we left back in Jerusalem? They had locked the door, pulled the shades, blown out the candles and then quietly whispered to each other, “What will become of us?”

Imagine their surprise when Jesus walked through the locked door and announced, “Peace be with you. Why are you frightened?”

Walking through an oak door with six locks and a cedar chest pushed up against it is a pretty cool trip, unless you are scared to death. Fear is the most primal of all human response. We have all that insurance because we fear health issues, fires, break-ins, accidents, and the end of the universe as we know it. But even All-State’s “good hands” don’t offer a policy that underwrites peace of mind. That takes more than a monthly check in the mail. Peace of mind occurs only when there is a transformation of the soul.

In the midst of chaos, Jesus said, “Shalom.”

In the midst of hopelessness, Jesus said, “Shalom.”

In the midst of death, Jesus said, “Shalom.”

In both the Arab and Jewish world when there is a gathering of both friends and strangers, the most likely greeting to be heard is a derivative of the word “Shalom.” But we should never limit its meaning to a simple salutation. The word “Shalom” has deep roots in both Jewish and Arabic society. In the tradition of the Old Testament, Shalom implies completeness, soundness, and the healthiness of both one’s mind and body. It calls for peace and tranquility in one’s heart and community. Exchanging the word “Shalom” declares, “You have nothing of which to be afraid. As you trust God, you can trust me.”

In a discussion this week with Brian Koster, he reminded me the basic faith statement of the Muslim tradition is, “I will trust God.” This is not unique to the Muslim faith. It is also the very essence of our First Commandment. When Jesus walked through those doors, fear and disbelief must have overwhelmed the disciples. What could be more appropriate than Jesus calmly saying, “Do not fear, you can trust me.”

Unfortunately, faith in God, is not as universal as we might wish. Regardless of what might be written on the dollar bill, trusting God is a concept that is losing popularity in our society. A recent Gallop Poll discovered 27% of all Americans, when asked to declare their religious preference, wrote down none. This was up from 12% just 20 years ago. Are we losing faith in God? Are we losing confidence in religious institutions? Are we more apt to put our trust in a voice that wants to know our security code? The real question might be; have we become such believers in individualism that we only trust ourselves?

The disciples had lost their trust in not only God but also in each other. Fear dominated their lives to the point that no one was beyond suspicion. They had no faith, they had no peace, and they certainly had no joy. Remind you of anyone you might know?

In Eastern religions, and remember Christianity began as an Eastern religion, natural extension of trusting God is also trusting your God-centered community. The concept of Shalom does not occur in a vacuum. It is not good enough to just love God; you must also love your neighbor. When Jesus said, “Peace be with you,” they should have responded, “And also with you.” But the words froze on the tip of their tongue. After what they had witnessed, how could they risk being in harmony with anyone?

Dorthee Soelle, a German theologian from the past century wrote, “To be alive is to be vulnerable. To be faithful is to resist the temptation of artificial security. That doesn’t happen unless we love something beyond ourselves.”

Jesus, the broken one, walked through a locked door to offer hope to disciples obsessed with their own security.

Jesus, the wounded one, spoke of Shalom to a group captured by their own anxieties.

Jesus, the denied one, dared the disciples to create a community based on something beyond themselves.

Then Jesus said, “The key to living is giving your life away and discovering the transformation that takes place when one discovers God’s Shalom.”

That, my friends, is how we bring joy to this world.