In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     This past week, I told Susan I was going to run over to Barnes and Noble to look for a book, and off I went. When I returned with bag, and book in hand, she asked, "What did you get?" I said, "I wanted to get a book by one of the members of the Jesus Seminar." And puzzled, she asked, "Why?" You might ask the same thing, knowing how I feel about the Jesus Seminar, and their work. And I'll tell you the same thing I told Susan. I know I often speak against the scholars of the Jesus Seminar, but it's not enough to speak against a stereotype-to be honest you also have to read what the seminar scholars are actually saying-so, I bought a book by one of their prominent scholars, titled, "Jesus, A Revolutionary Biography", because I wanted to see what this supposed biblical scholar would say about the resurrection. It seems to me, on a Sunday when we have not one, but two resurrection accounts included in our lessons, it's worth my time to see what these scholars have to say about the biblical witness regarding the resurrection of our Lord. Because the greatest threat to Christianity today, is probably not Islam, or new age spirituality-the greatest threat to Christianity, is the so-called Christians, who are the so-called Biblical scholars, of the Jesus Seminar. And they are a threat, because they deny the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus! And so, during the Season of Easter, when we are celebrating and proclaiming the fact of Jesus' resurrection-we've got to spend at least one Sunday out of seven, addressing the resurrection, and those who would deny it!

     And how does this scholar, formerly a Roman Catholic priest, deal with the resurrection? Quite simply, he asserts that all the resurrection appearances were either the result of trances, or ghostly apparitions. In fact, writing about the various reports of resurrection experiences, including Saul's experience of the Risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, our first lesson for today, this scholar writes, "what happened historically is that those who believed in Jesus before his execution, continued to do so afterward. Easter is not about the start of a new faith, but about the continuation of an old one. That is the only miracle and the only mystery (of Easter), and it is more than enough of both. Of course there may have been trances and visions. There always are such events in every religion, and there is no reason to think Paul was alone in his." For this author, Paul's experience of the risen Jesus occurred in a trance, making it, not a real-life appearance of Jesus physically, truly risen from the dead, but a vision not unlike a dream-a dream-vision not unlike many of our dream-visions that bring something new to light, and help us to re-direct our lives. For this scholar, that explains Paul's Damascus road conversion, and explains it away, in light of the other supposed resurrection experiences-of Peter, Mary, John and the others-who were guilty of merely seeing what they wanted to see-in either apparitions, trance-like states of consciousness, or the simple continuation of divine empowerment through Jesus-the continuation of living the Jesus life-style which seemed to work because of Jesus' unbroken and abiding presence that didn't seem to end with his crucifixion. In other words, according to this scholar, people do not need a resurrection to experience Jesus still with them-they simply need to be adept at trances and extra-sensory perception, or better yet, just keep living the Jesus-life-style, and you'll feel Jesus still with you.

     Now, as bizarre as that might sound to some of us, to many people in our world today, indeed, to many Christians who find faith and miracle and mystery hard to swallow-such an interpretation can sound quite alluring. It seems bizarre to me, that this scholar describes himself as "Christian", although as a professor of Scripture, being a Roman Catholic priest was too restricting for him, as he was always getting himself into trouble. And no wonder, because how can one be a Christian, let alone a priest or pastor, and deny the creeds, and deny the Scriptures, and deny the witness of Peter and Paul and Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, who proclaim the good news of physical, bodily resurrection?! And more than that, how can one think that Christianity could've survived, on merely our own good will and intentions? It's fine to think that Jesus can live on in our hearts, without being resurrected. It's okay if you want to imagine or envision Jesus still floating around with you day by day, like a ghost or apparition. It's great to try to live a Jesus-life-style-but the problem with each of these approaches that deny a resurrection, is that it's all up to you. Strength for living, and power for change, and renewal and transformation in life, all depends on you-and your ability to draw upon a Jesus who is long dead, but lives in your individual consciousness alone, or in the collective consciousness of those who choose to remember Jesus. And that's of course, the stumbling block for those of us who hold to the traditional, biblical belief in a truly resurrected Lord. We just can't see how Christianity would've survived, and people could be converted, and lives could be changed so dramatically and drastically, if we have, not a risen Lord, but merely a remembered friend. And today, in our lessons from Acts, and from John, we have to confront the reality, that what we have is not a memory of Jesus, but a resurrection!

     In John, apart from John's own summary statement, "this was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead"-apart from that, we have an account of a very real Jesus, appearing after being crucified and buried. And this is not some dream-like Jesus-not some ghostly vision, this is Jesus, who speaks with his disciples, and tells them where to cast their nets for fish, and makes a fire on the beach, and cooks breakfast-and eats with his disciples! Not even in movies do we hear of a ghost, eating and drinking-except in movies and cartoons like Ghostbusters and Casper, which show ghosts eating, so that you can also see it passing through their transparent visages. Why else would a ghost eat and drink? No where does Scripture speak of Jesus after death, as an apparition, or as appearing in a dream, although Scripture does speak in many places about visions in dreams. If that's how Jesus showed up, surely Scripture would say that. But in fact, what Scripture says is, "this was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead." And he appeared as the resurrected Jesus, not just to one person-but to Peter, and Thomas, and to Nathanael, and to James and John the sons of Zebedee, and to two others of the disciples. And not surprisingly, the Jesus Seminar scholars point to the fact that these were already followers of Jesus who claimed to have seen the Risen Jesus-because they were the very ones who weren't ready to let him go, and had a vested interest in the continuation of Jesus' teaching and lifestyle. This supposed resurrection appearance, these scholars claim, isn't trustworthy because these were the ones who would gain the most, from being witnesses to a resurrection-becoming, themselves, apostles, with power and position in the Church.

     And we could understand that reasoning-and it might turn some heads, were it not for Saul--Paul and our account from Acts 9. Because Saul already had power and position-in Judaism. Saul was a Pharisee of the strictest kind-well-respected and well-heeled in his religion-and he was an enemy of the Christians, and not only doubted the followers of Jesus, but had the authority to have Christians arrested and tried, and punished! What did Saul have to gain, by a trance-dream-like vision of Jesus, after death? Saul, who became Paul, stood to lose everything! If it made perfect sense that the disciples of Jesus would concoct a resurrection tale-it made no sense for Paul to do so-truthfully, everything spoke against Saul being one of the ones who witness the risen Jesus. To see such a vision in a dream, or a trance, would've allowed Saul to deny such a vision, or at least to question whether such a vision were of God, or the devil! But there is no such questioning. Saul simply asks, "who are you, Lord?" And the reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." And from that point on, Paul does what Jesus asks, goes where Jesus instructs, and commits himself to the Lord Jesus, being baptized, and proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God!" And why this complete turn-around? Why this conversion? Why this total change of heart and mind regarding Jesus? As a pastor once said, "when someone is headed in the wrong direction, it may take a blinding light to expose his own blindness." It was, and only could've been, the resurrection light of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, that so blinded Saul, driving him to the ground in a kind of living death, which Saul endured for three days, as Jesus himself was in the tomb three days, that finally ended with Saul, becoming Paul, receiving true sight, and being given a new direction in life. Remember, Saul had not been looking for new direction; Saul was not searching for a new spirituality, or a new mission in life. He was struck to the ground by the Risen Jesus, who then commissioned Paul for a new calling-a new vocation-to be an apostle-albeit the last of the apostles, but an apostle still, who would be, perhaps, the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. Which came, as Paul himself said, not from men, but from God-from Jesus himself, who revealed his resurrected, glorified self, to Paul. And it is the Risen Jesus, who converted Saul, and made him Paul. And it is the Risen Jesus, who once again, appeared to the disciples, after he was raised from the dead, and gave them a boat full of fish. And it is still, the Risen Jesus, who alone, forgives, and renews and converts and transforms people-by His resurrected power, among us. Without a doubt, there are people in our world who do good things, just by trying to live a Jesus-life-style. But when you're headed in the wrong direction in life-when you're so caught up in your own pursuits and interests that you don't even know you're headed in the wrong direction-when you need a complete, 180 degree turn around in life, it may very well take a blinding light, to bring you to your senses, and put you on the right path. And how can we, where do we experience that blinding light, today?

     Some time ago, one of our members told me that on a given Sunday during Holy Communion, as the chalice was lifted up during the words of institution, there was a flash of light from the chalice that contained our Lord's Risen presence. A flash of light that was almost like a flame that shot out of the chalice. To the skeptic, such an occurrence can be explained by the fact that the chalice is polished gold, and it's being lifted up into the sunlight. From the biblical way of thinking, the miracle is not in the fact that something completely supernatural and unexplainable happened, but that God caused it to happen at just that moment, in the consecration, with the sunlight flashing in the chalice. To be, perhaps, for us, a sign-a light not unlike the light that flashed before Saul-revealing to us, the mystery and the miracle of Christ's resurrection, for us. And however you think of such a sign, the truth of the matter is, it is in Christ's Risen presence in the Lord's Supper, that for us, is the blinding flash of light that drives us to our knees, and brings us to our senses, and sends us off in a new direction. As surely as Jesus was there on the seashore with the disciples, offering them the Lord's Breakfast, Jesus is here, with us, offering to us, the Lord's Breakfast-the Sacrament of His presence among us. And once we have experienced the Light of His risen presence, then, He sends us out-to love and to serve. Once we have experienced the overwhelming, life-changing Light of His risen presence, He sends us out in new directions, to do new things in life. He sends us out to proclaim His death and resurrection, He sends us out to share the good news of His risen presence, to bring light, to those who live in darkness and fear and uncertainty. And truly, does our world need, now, the Light of Jesus' risen presence!? Light, to enlighten our world, darkened by mass murder and violence in our schools. The Light of Christ's presence, to heal broken hearts and lives, and minds and spirits. The Light of Christ to comfort the grieving, and to uplift those who mourn, and to give us hope, when all around us seems dark and forsaken. For Jesus, risen from death, is the only one who can be, not just our friend, not just a beloved memory, but our Savior. Jesus, risen from death, is the only one who can, who will feed us with His incarnate presence, and transform us, and our broken world. Jesus, risen from death, is the only one who can be, truly, Light and life, to bring us finally, joy and peace. So, may we, who receive and witness and experience the Light of Christ's risen presence, in the Sacrament of the Altar today, go-to bring Him, and His light, and His hope, to our troubled world!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.