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I dare say that most of us have seen the now classic movie, “Ghostbusters.” It features a peculiar group of klutzy scientists and adventurers whose fascination with ghosts gets them into all kinds of trouble. They form a company called Ghostbusters and become quite popular when legions of ghosts begin harrassing New York City. The ghosts try all kinds of tactics to scare these ghostbusters including sliming them. But our ghostbusters face their fears and using their special backpack units they are able to zap those pesty ghosts, sending them into their special containment boxes. The Bible has its own version of “ghostbusters.” The risen Christ has just appeared to two followers of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They excitedly returned to Jerusalem to share the news that Jesus was alive. While they were all talking about this, suddenly Jesus appeared among them and said, “Peace be with you.” The disciples were startled and terrified. Can you imagine an encounter with Jesus causing you to be terrified? In my book terror is several notches beyond fear. Terror is a fear that grips you deep in your soul. Terror causes you muscles to freeze and your mouth to become like cotton. And then Luke records that “they thought they were seeing a ghost.” But Jesus understands their feelings. He says, “Look at my hands and my feet. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And then to add more evidence for their disbelieving minds Jesus ate a broiled piece of fish in their presence. Luke is very clear in telling this story. Jesus was physically raised from the dead. This is no apparition. He has real blood coursing through his veins. He has a real stomach with real fish in it. The disciples had better deal with their fears and face up to the truth of the resurrection. Years ago there was a story about a judge in Yugoslavia who had an unfortunate accident. He was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on the light while standing in the bathtub. His wife found his body sprawled on the bathroom floor. When she called for help, friends and neighbors, police showed up. He was pronounced dead and taken to the funeral home. The local radio picked up the story and broadcast it all over the airwaves. In the middle of the night, the judge came to. He realized where he was, and rushed over to alert the night watchman, who promptly ran off, terrified. His first thought was to phone his wife and reassure her. But he got no further than, "Darling, it's me," when she screamed and fainted. He tried calling a couple of the neighbors but they all thought it was some sort of sick prank. He even went so far as to go to the homes of several friends but they were all sure he was a ghost. Finally, he was able to call a friend in the next town who hadn't heard of his death. This friend was able to convince his family and other friends that he really was alive. Today is the third Sunday in the Easter season. Christ is risen. And yes it was pretty easy to see the risen Christ two weeks ago on Easter morning. You could see his risen presence in the beauty of that sunny day, in the aroma of the lilies, in the inspiration of the music, and in the power of the Word. But how are you doing today in recognizing the risen Christ? What are your ghosts? What is it that blocks you from seeing the risen Christ and makes you instead see a ghost? I’d like to suggest two ghosts that often appear in many of our minds, ghosts that keeps us blinded to the reality of our risen Christ. First, there is the ghost of prejudice. Prejudice is a word that describes the way we look at a person or a people. We look at people and do not see them the way they are but instead we see them as we want to see them. We view them according to a preconceived notion that has been planted in our minds. We prejudge them. The following story appeared in the newsletter OUR AMERICA. "Dodie Gadient, a schoolteacher for thirteen years, decided to travel across America and see the sights she had taught about. Traveling alone in a truck with camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon rounding a curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, a water pump blew on her truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping. "Leaning up against the trailer, she prayed, 'Please God, send me an angel . . . preferably one with mechanical experience.' Within four minutes, a huge Harley drove up, ridden by an enormous man sporting long, black hair, a beard and tattooed arms. With an incredible air of confidence, he jumped off and, without even glancing at Dodie, went to work on the truck. Within another few minutes, he flagged down a larger truck, attached a tow chain to the frame of the disabled Chevy, and whisked the whole 56-foot rig off the freeway onto a side street, where he calmly continued to work on the water pump. "The intimidated schoolteacher was too dumbfounded to talk. Especially when she read the paralyzing words on the back of his leather jacket: 'Hell's Angels -- California'. As he finished the task, she finally got up the courage to say, 'Thanks so much,' and carry on a brief conversation. Noticing her surprise at the whole ordeal, he looked her straight in the eye and mumbled, 'Don't judge a book by its cover. You may not know who you're talking to.' With that, he smiled, closed the hood of the truck, and straddled his Harley. With a wave, he was gone as fast as he had appeared." If you and I can learn to destroy the ghost of prejudice we just might be able to see the risen Christ who may just appear in the form of a Hell’s Angel biker. Even after the disciples saw Jesus, and touched his body, their joy was tempered with wonder and disbelief. It is amazing, isn’t it? Sometimes hard evidence can be directly in front of us, and we still refuse to believe. We have a hard time letting go of our old ways of thinking. For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle's death. In 1589 Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right. Like these learned men you and I have been seeing the ghost of prejudice for so long that we don’t want to see the risen Christ. We like our old, comfortable ghosts. We don’t want to see new life. Another ghost which causes us to be diverted from the power of the resurrection is fear. It was fear that ripped through those women when they visited the tomb that first Easter morning. It was fear that caused the disciples to doubt and question this new vision of Jesus raised from the dead. And it is often fear that keeps us from being faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. I remember my younger brother announcing to our family that he was going to spend some time as a missionary in Argentina. I could not understand my parents’ reaction which was one of fear for their son. It seemed logical to me that Tim would respond to a missionary call to Argentina. And my parents’ believed in the importance of mission also. They just struggled with the idea of sending their son to the mission field. The ghost of fear can raise its ugly head and blind us from seeing the risen Christ. Over a hundred years ago there was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. His name was Black Bart. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard. Sometimes our ghosts of fear can be so powerful that we are left paralyzed and unable to act. But Easter is alive today! Christ is risen here in this place! The time has come for us to unmask our ghosts of fear and see them for what they really are. If Christ’s resurrection is to have any power to change this world it must take place in your heart and mine. God’s great gift of love to us has been given. It is now up to each one of us to destroy the ghosts that would prevent us from living in the freedom of God’s love. This freedom is available to us today. And yet so many of us continue to live in fear and darkness. A man who hid for 32 years fearing punishment of pro-Nazi wartime activity says he used to cry when he heard happy voices outside, but dared not show himself even at his mother's funeral. Janez Rus was a young shoemaker when he went into hiding at his sister's farmhouse in June, 1945. He was found years later in 1977 after she bought a large supply of bread in the nearby village of Zalna. "If I had not been discovered, I would have remained in hiding. So I am happy that this happened," Rus told a reporter. For 32 years he did nothing. He never left the house, and could only look down at the village in the valley. I am certain that you are not interested in living a life of hiding, a life of self-imposed prison, a life of darkness. The truth of the matter is that some of us are indeed living such a life. We look at the risen Christ and can recognize him in a few holy places. But for the most part we do not see the risen Christ in our work places, on the streets of Anchorage, or in our homes. Instead we allow ourselves to see the darkness of ghostly images….images of fear and prejudice. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that Christ is alive! When you and I claim the power of this resurrection love in our hearts and lives we can live in freedom. We can see the Easter Christ in this Good Friday world. We can make a difference in our families. And we can be a true ghostbuster. |
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May 7, 2000
