Do we have any fish?

On our post-Resurrection journey, last week we considered John’s account of Jesus meeting with the doubt-ridden disciples in a locked room. Here in Luke’s account describes an extra journey, that of a 7 mile hike along the Emmaus Road, but thankfully not on a Boris walk this year. Cleopas and possibly his wife, Mary, were to be entertained en route by this mysterious individual until he broke some bread at their table that evening – all was then clear. But do we have any fish?

Earlier in Luke 24 we read, like in John’s account, that women and ‘2 men’ arrive at the tomb. These men are not Peter and the ‘beloved disciple’ but one’s with a message to impart. In Mark’s account there is only the one man ‘in the tomb’. The women now also including Joanna, wife of Chuza – who was a servant of the Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist’s head cut off. These women are also, in the Greek Orthodox tradition, known and celebrated on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearer Women – 16th May this year.

The Apostles thought that the women’s story was incredible – probably better than ‘nonsense’ which is what is translated in the NIV (Luke 24:9). Peter remains confused.

Emmaus Road

The principal point in the Emmaus Road sojourn is that Cleopas and Mary, his wife, do not recognise Jesus’ voice, as did Mary of Magdalene in John’s account. Cleopas explains that they didn’t find his body (Luke 24:23) but messengers said that he was alive. Where they expecting to find Jesus along this road? It was upon that breaking of the bread – was it the manner it was broken? for according to Caravaggio (above) his wounds are not seen – that they recognised Jesus, and after the meal they returned to the disciples in Jerusalem. (Matthew and Mark have Jesus in Galilee, albeit that may well have been a metaphor for the disciples starting again where Jesus starts his ministry.

Peace be with you

As per last week, in John’s account, Jesus’ words are not a greeting but more of a ‘hey I have arrived and don’t get spooked‘ calming assurance. The flow of this meeting of Jesus and the disciples is mirrored fairly well with the account in John’s Gospel…except we don’t have any bread and wine…but do we have any fish?

Jesus is acutely aware that his appearance will startle the disciples, the ones that he has been dropping heavy hints for some time about all of this but …well the penny never dropped. They still are doubting what they see. He offers them to look at his hands and his feet – no doubt (sorry for the pun) so that they can see the wounds which are still there. If those wounds weren’t present, was this the Jesus some of them saw crucified a wee while ago? Go on “touch and see” invites Jesus. We are not told whether anyone actually touched Jesus’ body, as we might note in some much later paintings (below) – would you have touched Jesus’ wounds with your fingers? The Jewish custom of not entering a tomb – that hesitancy by the beloved disciple in John’s account highlights that concern – so what about touching a supposedly dead body?

Fish

Hey, do we have any fish? It’s odd that Jesus seemed to have a propensity for some fish post-resurrection. Well not really, given his upbringing in Capernaum, around the bustling fishing port at the north of the Sea of Galilee. He eats the broiled fish there and then. He has another bite on the beach (John 21:4). But this isn’t a eucharistic meal, albeit that it brings joy to the disciples. The word eucharist means thanks giving, and etymologically contains the word kharis or grace. But there is no bread and wine mentioned albeit there were also fairly staple elements of a meal then.

Resurrected Body

What is also mentioned is just just prior to Jesus partaking of the fish, he mentions that a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones – in the Greek it refers to because a spirit that does not have flesh and bones. Ghosts or apparitions were very much part of the Middle Eastern or even Babylonian understanding at the time. Moses and Elijah appeared at the Transfiguration and Peter, James and John were startled (Mark 9:2 onwards). But surely bodily resurrection is something we all believe in?

It has actually been a long developing argument where the likes of  Friedrich Schleiermacher and, in contrast, David Strauss, who have debated whether Christ’s resurrection was entirely bodily. Lazarus is noted to be with Dives in Hades but not such in bodily form. In John’s Epistles (2 John 1:7) we read that there are people who deny Jesus’ as in the flesh; hence, bodily resurrection was particularly important for the early church. It’s also an aspect of Fundamentalism. Is that the key point here?

Christ’s sending out

To Jesus, the important aspect is not to focus upon your own perceived end, the future, but whether you’ll follow his example, now.

• Jesus revealed himself to those whom doubted, he met them as they were.
• Eat and drink with people. May be eat some fish.
• Explain what makes your faith tick. Use words when necessary.
• He asked his disciples to forgive others, allow people to form links within communities so that they could be as one, inclusivity would reign.
• Don’t hang around the building – unlike the disciples – but go out.