This week, I was blown away by the most concise overview of this text I have ever read. Pastor and scholar Melinda Quivik points out that in this post-resurrection appearance, Jesus:
- Determines to be with his people.
- Sees their fear and doubt.
- Gets “real” by showing them his hands and feet.
- Eats with them.
- Then opens their minds.
What a model for us to follow. In sharing our faith, in serving others, even in simply interacting with others, we move rapidly to (or even start with!) trying to open folks’ minds. We go into lecture mode, or preaching mode. We appeal to folks’ minds. Jesus does not start there, he ends there. Before he reaches a mind, he establishes community. In doing so, Jesus is able to see people as they really are – warts and all – beyond the façade and through the mask. But his community is not a social club, it is a place where wounds and scar tissue can be seen, where authenticity is the name of the game, where the hard work of loving is done – that’s the real deal. And, although the meal that Jesus shares with his disciples has theological content galore (it is a Eucharist of sorts, and it ‘proves’ that he is alive and not a ghost) it is a meal, nonetheless. It is impossible to wage war over a dinner table. Meal sharing banishes ignorance and leads to insight and understanding – it helps establish healthy relationships.
There is a lot going on in this relatively brief text; so much that one can lose sight of the simplicity of Quivik’s outline. This text can serve as a roadmap to evangelization, service ministry, outreach, and relationship building. But first, we have to learn to begin with the heart and not the head.
