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April 26, 2009
I John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

You might think that it was old news. But there it was on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal last week. Quidditch. For those of you familiar with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, you are familiar with the fast paced game that involves riding a specially equipped broom, tossing a quaffle (similar to a standard ball) through a hoop raised high in the air. While you are tossing the quaffle to teammates, another member of your team tries to outrace the opponent and catch the golden snitch.  

For me, the article about playing Quidditch reminded me of something I had seen in the brochure from the UCC camping program at Pilgrim Center for this summer. I am intrigued by one of the offerings, the week at “Harry Potter Camp.” I wish I could go! I have seen similar programs offered at other UCC and Presbyterian camps throughout the country, and I am curious. One UCC camp describes the week as an opportunity to “explore the importance of welcoming, listening, being a good neighbor, having compassion and learn ways [to] be agents of transformation.”

Throughout our lives, there are times when we find ourselves in locked rooms. In the first books of the Harry Potter series, Harry finds himself physically locked in a small room under the stairs at his aunt and uncle’s house, or isolated in an upstairs room, as they attempt to keep him from finding out that he is a wizard. He is not allowed to talk about, or perform magic. His aunt and uncle try, unsuccessfully, to keep him invisible from the outside world.  

For many, J. K. Rowling’s world of wizards and muggles (muggles are those of us that are not wizards) has reignited an enthusiasm for reading in young people. Each time a book has been released, there have been lines of fans waiting at the bookstores. This July, the sixth Harry Potter movie will be released. Integrating this fascination in Harry Potter with the contemporary challenges youth face today, can give young teens a chance to talk about social situations they encounter in their own lives in an open, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment, motivating them to explore their own faith in new ways.  

Yet there is controversy in revealing the presence of Jesus in our lives through a week at Hogwart. Hogwart is the school of wizardry and magic Harry attends. According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter series tops the list of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books in 2000-2007. Some evangelical Christian writers, focusing on these books that center on sorcery and magic, have suggested that children have difficulty separating fantasy from reality and that children should not be exposed to stories of wizardry.  

So why would I want to go to Harry Potter camp? It is not to play Quiddich! I am more intrigued by one of the magical objects Harry is given at Hogwarts: the cloak of invisibility. Most of us have experienced times when we would like to have our own invisibility cloak; times when we would like to be veiled from the outside world. Not only as teenagers, but as adults; we draw inward, overwhelmed by life’s challenges.

In those times, we are often called back to the locked room in Luke’s gospel. We return to this room of fear, where, behind locked doors the disciples and their companions hide, cowering.

They had seen things that terrified them - were they next to be crucified?

Their vision of the future had evaporated-They had left families, they had given up their jobs- for what? Uncertainty? Instability? Death?

They heard things that had mystified them- In today’s reading, the disciples and others sat huddled in the locked room and listened to the story retold to them by the two that encountered Jesus along the road to Emmaus.

In this locked room, visually separated from the outside world, I imagine that the questions must have been swirling. The apprehension and panic must have been pounding in their hearts. Yet there was more emerging in this place. The two who had walked along the road to Emmaus described their encounter with Jesus. They explained how his identity had been kept from them. It was only when they shared a meal with him that the risen Jesus was revealed. And here, now, in this locked room, as the story was being retold, as the bread was broken in the spoken word- Jesus was suddenly present with them again.  

How terrifying would that be? A familiar voice emerging in their midst: Peace be with you. Did the voice of this beloved man recently put to death strike fear in those around him? Or was the voice comforting? Did the people hidden in the locked room experience a flood of relief that Jesus was still with them?  

While the sound of their teacher’s voice might have brought joy, what was revealed to the disciples visually was most likely not comforting, at least not initially. Here tattered hands were raised before them with wounds from the crucifixion. Torn, bloody, raw. Or were the wounds healed, with white, raised scars marking the catastrophe that had unfolded? Luke does not say. But experiencing Christ’s presence in that room, no matter how jarring, no matter how reassuring, must have raised questions. How did Jesus enter the locked room? Or was he there with them all the time? How did he remain invisible to those who knew him best?  

The risen Christ raises many questions, some of which cloud our human responses. For us, it might be because of a locked room we experienced in our childhood, a loss, a neglect, a violation, that we shut tight and cannot reveal. Or maybe we now live in the locked room of a destructive relationship, a love torn apart by addiction that we cannot bear to expose to the rest of the world. Maybe we have found ourselves tossed into the locked room of cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, or Alzheimer’s that prematurely destroys the hopes and dreams of our future.  

We have seen things that terrify us- visions of war, refugee camps, terror attacks.

The future that we had envisioned for ourselves has evaporated- we have lost jobs, we have inadequate healthcare, our savings have been depleted.

We have heard things that mystify us- in the retelling of the Hebrew Bible stories, the Gospel, the Epistle lessons; stories from our families and friends of unexpected encounters with God.

How do we understand Jesus’ appearance in the locked room? Do we, as adults, have difficulty separating fantasy from reality? How do we understand the new realities that our exploration of the many cultures and lands around the world brings to our awareness of God in our midst? How do we comprehend the expansive universe that has been made visible to us through science? It is easy to become locked in the room of fear and despair in today’s Gospel reading.

We ask why is it so challenging to find Jesus in our midst?

Can we hope for something new?

Why are we Christians, or are we Christians at all?

Yet here, in the reality of the locked room of our lives, Jesus himself appears to us. The questions continue to swirl in our minds, but with the familiar words, Peace be with you, here, today, Jesus speaks to us. Christ is revealed to us. Death has not made him invisible. And as Christians, we are suddenly invited out of that locked room. We are invited to come out from the protection of the walls. In the swirl of our human questioning, we are invited by Jesus to ask a different question: Not why, but how are we to be Christians?  

In that locked room, Jesus shows us that in the midst of terror and fear, we are to welcome to one another. Peace be with you. Opening a place of sanctuary for all. Welcoming those hiding from political persecution. Welcoming those distraught by loss. Welcoming those that others would rather not see.  

In that locked room, Jesus shows us that we are not only to offer peace to all, but also to extend hospitality. Blinded by their emotions of loss and unbelieving, the disciples forget to be hospitable. How easy that is to do under stress?! Jesus gives us a clear reminder. In the most unexpected places, such as the locked rooms we enter, Jesus reminds us, softly, to offer the simple gift of hospitality. Do you have something to eat? Sharing what we have. Seeing Christ with us at meals.  

In that locked room, Jesus shows us that we are not only to offer peace and hospitality, but that we are also to take time to reflect on the scriptures. Even in those moments we are distracted by the darkness around us, God’s word can be revealed to us if we take the time to pause and listen. Jesus revealed the Word to the disciples in that locked room.  

And in that locked room, there is a fourth call: you are to be witnesses. Called out of the locked room. Called out to be visible. Called out by Jesus to tell your story. Called by out Christ to tell what you have witnessed. How you have experienced God in your life? In the swirl of faith questions we ask ourselves, we are invited to ask the question: How are we to be Christians? Christ calls us not to put on the cloak of invisibility, but to reach out in peace, offer hospitality, reflect on the word of God, and to witness to God’s presence in our lives

You might think that this was old news. But the questions we raise today are not all that different from the first followers of Christ. Yet our answers are new, in response to our God who is Still Revealing. As the Rev. John Thomas, General Minister and President, of the United Church of Christ wrote in the pastoral letter on Faith Engaging Science and Technology:

“Questions like these are as old as scripture and as new as the latest discoveries of physics and biology…Can our church address the seekers of today? Can we offer a word for our time, one full of hope and encouragement, one taken seriously for its keen insight and honest comprehension?”

In the swirl of questions, can we become visible people of transformation, witnessing to God’s unequivocal welcome?

This morning I extend to you the peace of Christ. Peace be with you. Unlock the doors. Come out of hiding! Amen.