April 14, Easter 3B (Luke 24:36b–48)

Last year our family spent fall break on Tybee Island in Georgia. It was absolutely gorgeous there, and we had the best week playing in the surf and sand. One evening we took a short ride over to Savannah to have dinner and take a walking ghost tour of the old city. I have always been a little fascinated with the paranormal. Now, I am quite a skeptic; I don’t really buy it, though I am open to my mind being changed. Still, from campfire stories to movies, spooky things always draw me in.

Back to the ghost tour. The guide took us all over town recounting story after story, as we passed haunted place after haunted place. It all culminated at a cemetery, which definitely has a ghostly vibe. If you picture a creepy cemetery at night, you’ve probably imagined it correctly. The tour was billed as family friendly, but the guide definitely forgot about that detail. His parting words to us were to “check under the bed tonight.” For the adults it was a fun way to see the city and hear some of the tales that have been passed down for generations, but the kids were terrified by the end.

In Luke’s Easter story, the risen Jesus appears to his disciples, first to two of them on the journey to a village called Emmaus and then to the 11 back in Jerusalem. When Jesus appears it’s a frightening scene, so much so that they can only conclude that he’s a ghost. Naturally, their response is like my kids on that ghost tour: they are overcome by fear. However, this is no haunted sightseeing excursion. Jesus is among them, and to calm their fears he offers them his hands and feet as evidence. Why not just remind them of a story or an inside joke they had shared? Because his hands and feet bear the scars of crucifixion. For his followers, Jesus’ scars are a certificate of authenticity.