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5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. “It’s dark in there and I’m scared.” She asked again, and he persisted. Finally she said, “It’s OK–Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?” It really would be helpful if Jesus would show up like that.

This week and over the course of the next several weeks we are going to be reading about Jesus’ appearances following the resurrection. This week, he appears to Mary Magdalene in the garden near the tomb, she says, “I have seen the Lord.” Next week there’s going to be the episode of Jesus appearing in the upper room and Thomas’ doubting. Later, he is going to appear to his disciples next to the Sea of Galilee and have breakfast with them, and then there will be the two disciples who encounter him on the Road to Emmaus. Forty days from today he is going to appear again just before the ascension.

I don’t know about you, but every now and then, I think it would be nice if he would make an appearance these days. It wouldn’t have to be much, maybe just passing the tomato soup from a dark closet or waving from a mountain. Surely someone would record it on their cellphone and upload the event to YouTube.

Judas, in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, made a good point, “Now why’d you choose such a backward time and such a strange land? If you’d come today you could have reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication.” Today, Jesus’ face appears on a piece of toast and everyone goes nuts, but can you imagine what would happen if someone posted a picture on Instagram of him walking across Grand Lake of the Cherokees? Back when I had a real job I worked for a marketing firm, and I can tell you, something like that will sell.

I think on his appearances to the disciples and others and I wonder, Where’s my garden or upper room experience where I can see him? Why won’t he have breakfast with me? Just once would do. A few weeks ago we read of the Greeks who came to Philip with one small request: “Sir, we would see Jesus.” And I think to myself, “Yes sir, we would.”

A man was walking home late one night when he saw another searching under a street light on hands and knees for something on the ground.

“Sir, what are you looking for?” he asked.

“The key to my house,” answered the other.

“I’ll help you look,” the man said.

Soon, both men were down on their knees under the street light, looking for the key.

After a number of minutes, the man asked, “Where exactly did you drop it?”

Waving off in the direction of a dark alley he said, “Over there, in the alley.”

The first man jumped up. “Then why are you looking for it here?”

“Because there is more light over here.”

We want to see Jesus, to have that encounter with him, but did you ever stop to consider that maybe – just maybe – we aren’t looking for him in the right place.

Look to the person on your left and if there is no one on your left, then look to the person on your right. Think about the person you saw walking down the street on your way here or the person you saw sitting in the car next to you. In all those people you’ve seen Jesus.

You look back to the person on your left and say, “Fr. John, that ain’t Jesus! That’s just Bob and Bob ain’t Jesus.” And on the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “I ask … that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us… I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one.” That may just be Bob or Myrtle or a complete stranger or an enemy, but Jesus is in them – whether you or they like it or not.

You know St. Patrick’s words:
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

And Mary Magdalene said, “I have seen the Lord.” And so have you.

A child in Sunday school was drawing a picture. When asked what she was drawing, she replied, “God.” The teacher said, “Nobody can draw a picture of God. Nobody knows what God looks like.” The child replied, “Well, they will in a minute!”

You want to see Jesus? Open your eyes. He is all around you.

The young girl who checked you out at the grocery store. The one that’s scraping by as a single Mom. Working two jobs and trying desperately to raise her litter girl. When you looked at her, you saw Jesus.

The bank executive you saw driving the fancy car, whose life is all together, who seems to be living the perfect life, and hasn’t thought of Jesus since he was in grade school. When you looked at him, you saw Jesus.

And when you turned to your left and there sat Bob. Well, you saw Jesus then too.

When you go to seminary they’re supposed to teach how to preach. All these books you have to read on good preaching. A few nights ago, I shared George Burns advice on good preaching: a good beginning, a good ending, and the two parts being as close together as possible. But all the books say you should have a few good points and an action item. Well, I’m breaking the rules this morning, so on your way home you’ll all probably say to one another, “Well there’s an hour and half I’ll never get back.” But instead of leaving you with an action item, I’m going to leave you with a few questions.

What if it’s true? What if that young single mom is Jesus? What if that rich banker is Jesus? What if Bob is Jesus? How would the way you engage with them change? Would you look at them differently? Would you love them in the same way that Jesus loved you?

Mary Magdalene said, “I have seen the Lord.” I have seen the Risen Lord.

So have you.

Charlie Brown is sitting under a tree talking to Peppermint Patty, who asks him, “What do you think security is, Chuck?” His answer: “Security is sleeping on the back seat of the car when you’re a little kid, and you’ve been somewhere with your mom and dad, and it’s night, and you’re riding home in the car, asleep. You don’t have to worry about anything—your mom and dad are in the front seat and they do all the worrying. They take care of everything.” To which Peppermint Patty responds, “That’s real neat!” Charlie Brown comments, “But it doesn’t last! Suddenly, you’re grown up, and it can never be that way again! Suddenly, it’s over, and you’ll never get to sleep in the back seat again! Never!” Peppermint Patty asks: “Never?” “Absolutely never,” Charlie Brown says. Peppermint Patty pauses for a moment, then says, “Hold my hand, Chuck!”

Robert Fulghum, the author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten said, “When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”

I invite you to join in as we walk through this Holy Week. The week that changed the world. There are times during this week when it will be joyful, and even though we know how the story ends, there are also times that can be scary and still others times that will break our hearts. Therefore, Peppermint Patty’s request and Fulghum’s advice – holding hands and sticking together – seems appropriate.

Together, with our Lord, we enter Jerusalem, go to the upper room, and then to the garden where he will be arrested. We will watch as he is put on trial, mocked, beaten, and hung on a cross. We will hear his final words and then for three days we will wait.

The words and liturgy we share are not a history lesson, but are instead a “making present” of those mighty acts, meaning that not only do we hear and see what took place, but that we also participate in them.

Today it begins. Together, let us enter into the events of our salvation.

A police officer pulled a driver aside and asked for his license and registration. “What’s wrong, officer,” the driver asked. “I didn’t go through any red lights, and I certainly wasn’t speeding.”

“No, you weren’t,” said the officer, “but I saw you waving your fist as you swerved around the lady driving in the left lane, and I further observed your flushed and angry face as you shouted at the driver of the Hummer who cut you off, and how you pounded your steering wheel when the traffic came to a stop near the bridge.”

“Is that a crime, officer?”

“No, but when I saw the ‘Jesus loves you and so do I’ bumper sticker, the I “Heart” Jesus window decal, not to mention the “Clergy” license plate bracket on the car, I figured this car had to be stolen.”

The gift of sight is truly something most of us probably take for granted. A visit with someone who is losing or lost their sight or perhaps has never been able to see is a true reminder of what a blessing vision is. However, vision is not just about functioning eyes. An ophthalmologist from New York reports, “The eye doesn’t see. The brain sees. The eye just transmits. So what we see isn’t only determined by what comes through the eye. What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before.” (http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/88035814941/were-eye-doctors-whats-something-about-the)

From our Gospel reading today: “Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’”

The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus occurred about 2,000 years ago, yet today, people are still making that same request. “We wish to see Jesus,” but when they ask, they aren’t asking Philip and Andrew to show them Jesus, instead they are asking you. “___, we wish to see Jesus.” “___, we wish to see Jesus.” We are each identified as followers of Christ, disciples of Jesus, therefore when the world wishes to see Him, they look to us. So, who do they see? What do they learn of Jesus by looking at us? Remember the words of the ophthalmologist said, “What we see is affected by our memories, our feelings, and by what we’ve seen before.” What do they see of Jesus when they think of us or what kind of response do they have when they recall an encounter with us?

Brennan Manning states, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” And it was D. L. Moody who wrote, “Of one hundred men, one will read the Bible; the ninety-nine will read the Christian.”

Here’s a test: If you were put on trial for being a Christian and you couldn’t say a word, would there be enough evidence to convict you, or would we all end up like the fella who got pulled over by the policeman who thought the car was stolen?

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says, “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

St. Peter draws on this same thought in his first epistle, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.… Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

You are “the light of the world,” “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,” which means that your life is a testimony on the nature and goodness of God.

When the world comes to us and says, “We would see Jesus,” we are to show them God. And they’re not looking for lip service and a pat on the head. They’re looking for a God that parts the sea, feeds the 5,000, gives sight to the blind, and heals the sick. And if that weren’t enough, they are looking for the God that raises the dead. The really scary part is that when the world goes looking for that God, they’re going to look to you to show Him to them. So, what are you going to do about it?

Bill has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can’t find anywhere to sit. By now people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.

He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid that looks like a rag-a-muffin sitting on the floor in the middle of the aisle?

It takes a long time for the deacon to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the cane. All eyes are focused on the deacon. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor.

With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships alongside him so he won’t be alone.

Fr. John, that’s a nice story, but you just told us that when folks come to us asking to see Jesus, they are going to want to see someone walking on the water. It’s true. They are. But when they come – and they will – you are going to show them something far greater than anything they could have ever imagined to ask for. You are going to show them the love of God. If God the Father needs you to walk on water, then you’re going to walk on the water, but what He needs from you more than anything else is for you to stretch out your hands in love to the world, just as he stretched out his hands in love on the hard wood of the Cross.

The miracle is not the water turning to wine. The miracle is the heart that turns to God and is transformed into His image.

Last week we concluded with these statements: First, Jesus declares, “Your sins are forgiven.” Second, when asked what those sins were, Jesus replies, “I don’t remember.” Finally, Jesus says, “I dare you to trust that I love you.”

To be the Light of the World is to show the world the love of God when they come to you and say, “We would see Jesus.” To be the Royal Priesthood is to say to them, “Your sins are forgiven. They are remembered no more. I dare you to trust that you are loved by God.”