Imagine the disciples on that first Resurrection Day. In the morning Mary reported, ​“I have seen the Lord.” 

In the evening, they are meeting in a house with the door locked, a whirlpool of emotions swirling in each heart. Only a few at this point believe the impossible. Everyone is bewildered.

Is the room silent? Is there talking? What’s the content and rhythm and tone of their conversation? 

In the millennia to come the people in this house will be immortalized in the ink of Scripture and the stained glass of cathedrals. For now, they’re a ragtag, uneducated, frightened group whose leader just got killed. It’s here that movements are supposed to die.

What happens next is electric.

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ​‘Peace be with you.’” (You need peace when someone suddenly appears in a locked room.) 

The resurrected body of Jesus apparently looks different (which makes sense if you read 1 Corinthians 15:35 – 49). Here and in other accounts he isn’t immediately recognized. 

Then he shows the scars. ​“Touch me and see,” he says while putting some earthly fish in his heavenly mouth. 

Can you enter that moment? Smell the fish, feel the scars, hear the gasps of delight. The disciples are beside themselves with joy.

Luke’s gospel closes with the only appropriate response: worshipful celebration. ​“They worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and they were continually in the temple blessing God.” 

This is what Eastertide is about. The church calendar marks out fifty days to celebrate the resurrection. And for those of us who need a little help celebrating, this week Lacy Borgo gives some practical advice in the podcast and in an article about how to party like a Christian.

He Is Risen,