With Hearts Broken Open

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
April 19, 2015

3 Easter B

Last Wednesday, the Christ Church Food Pantry distributed almost 6600 pounds of food to 133 households representing 376 individuals.  By 8:30 that morning, Hollenbeck House was buzzing with activity as the frozen food arrived in cars and trucks and was unloaded into the offices, sorted and bagged for our clients.  The non-frozen food had been bagged the day before and by 9:30 that morning, there were only narrow passage ways through the offices and every other inch of space had cases of food stacked three and four deep.  Teams of people were packing the frozen food and more non-perishable food into bags and boxes as people lined up waiting for the Pantry to open.  For four solid hours, our clients were greeted, signed in, interviewed, and given large bags of groceries.  Some of the clients worried that we would run out of food before they got to the head of the line.  They were assured that we had plenty.  When they worried about how they would get the bags of food to their car, volunteers offered to carry them.  Older clients were offered a chair to sit in while they waited.  A volunteer even brought her laptop outside to interview a client who had a particularly difficult time getting around.  By the time the Pantry actually closed at 3 o'clock, everyone had been served and there was even a small amount of food leftover.

This morning, when I hear Jesus say "Have you anything here to eat?" I think about the people who line up at the food pantry.  Just as we give staple foods to our clients at the food pantry, the disciples give a staple food, a piece of broiled fish, to Jesus.  Jesus eats the fish in their presence to prove to the confused disciples that he is really alive.  The disciples have moved from being startled and terrified, to being joyful, yet disbelieving and wondering.  Then Jesus opens their minds to understand the scriptures and sends the disciples out to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations.  Jesus' last words this morning are "You are witnesses of these things."

At Christ Church, we understand that our baptismal covenant calls us to seek and serve Christ in all people.  We take to heart Jesus' words in Matthew's gospel that tell us that when we feed, shelter, clothe, and tend to those in need, we serve Jesus. We know that when we serve people at the Food Pantry, or at the Neighborhood Fair, or Rainbow Table, or Interfaith Hospitality Network, we encounter the risen Christ, and we try to serve each individual as we would serve Jesus.

This morning, however, recognizing Jesus is only the beginning of the story.  Once the disciples recognize Jesus and experience the peace Jesus offers them, Jesus goes on to open their minds to understand the scripture.  Once their minds have been opened, Jesus tells the disciples that the gospel message is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  Finally, Jesus says to the disciples "You are witnesses of these things."

Recognizing the risen Christ in their midst is only the beginning of the resurrection story for the disciples.  When Jesus shows the disciples the marks of crucifixion on his hands and feet, and eats the piece of broiled fish, I believe the hearts of the disciples are broken open so that they recognize the risen Christ in their midst.  Then Jesus opens the disciples' minds by teaching his followers what the scriptures have to say about him.   The hearts and minds of the disciples were broken open by their encounter with the resurrected Jesus not as an end in itself, but so that they could be sent out to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins, which is the peace of Christ, to all nations.

Likewise, when we serve at the Food Pantry, or any of our other outreach ministries, and encounter Jesus in those we serve, simply recognizing Jesus is not an end in itself either.  In encountering Jesus, we are called to allow our hearts and minds to be broken open so that we can also see other places that need the peace of Christ, and be witnesses to the power and love of God.  When my mind and heart are broken open by encountering Jesus here in Springfield, Ohio, I can more clearly hear the cries coming out of  Ferguson, Missouri and places all over the country where people of color experience life threatening prejudice and discrimination.  I can more clearly hear the cries coming out of Boston two years after the marathon bombing as the people struggle to recover and to have painful conversations about what justice looks like.  And I hear the cries of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East who are being persecuted and executed because of their belief in Jesus and who are desperate to know the peace and presence of the risen Christ.  And I wonder what one person can do to bring the peace of Christ to such tragic situations so far from home.

The first, best, and perhaps easiest answer is prayer.  One promise of our baptismal covenant is that we seek and serve Christ in all people.  Another promise is that we will be faithful in the breaking of bread and in prayer.  When our hearts are broken open by experiencing Jesus in the breaking of bread and in prayer, we are connected with all who Jesus loves and our minds can be opened to the ways Jesus would have us respond.  When we pray for those in any need or trouble, we act on our belief that prayers have power and make a difference.  So Jesus calls us to pray without ceasing for the peace of Christ to triumph in places where there appears to be no peace.

Then we are called to actually be witnesses to the peace of Christ.  That work may take the form of engaging in conversation that improves race relations in our own city, or communicating our concerns about the atrocities in the Middle East to our government leaders and asking them to take a stand on behalf of those who are being tortured and executed because of their Christian faith, or supporting organizations that are supporting victims of injustice and oppression.  The possibilities are endless once our hearts and minds have been broken open to see Jesus.

Jesus sends the disciples and us out into all the world to bear witness to the Easter message that tragedy, death and despair do not have the final word.  The peace of Christ will have the final word.  But we fail the Easter message if we allow that message to make us complacent in the face of evil simply because we know evil does not have the final word.  The Easter message calls us to allow our hearts and minds to be broken open by the Risen Christ, and then to be active in our witness to the power of God, the power of prayer, and the power of action that make the peace of Christ more present in all the world.
Amen.