Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BIBLICAL IMAGERY

(Fr Michael Boakye Yeboah: Vice Rector of St Gregory Seminary, Kumasi-Ghana)

 “…IT IS A GHOST”

            No matter how you loved a dead person, no matter how close you were to him or her, if he or she suddenly appears to you, your first emotion will be one of fear, terror. There is a saying, “Dead men don’t bite.” Apparently, nobody believes that. People are simply afraid of ghosts and I am one of them. They are just not human, and we do not know what to make of them. People are usually afraid of the unknown.

            That must have been the situation of the disciples of Jesus in the immediate aftermath of his resurrection. They knew about his death. Some of them had seen him die. A few were involved with his burial. When he now suddenly appeared among them, they were in a state of alarm and fright. It made no difference that Jesus greeted them with “Peace”. Peace is the last thing you feel when you are confronted with a ghost. You want to run, take to your heels.

            Jesus had to go to great lengths to convince them that he was not a ghost, that it was really him, and he had risen from the dead. Jesus just wanted to remove the fear that they are seeing a ghost. He does this by letting his physicality be perceived as tangibly as possible. They are to see – the wounds on his hands and feet; they are to touch – in order to convince themselves of his bodily presence; finally they are to see him eat earthly food – broiled fish. After they witnessed him eat something, they begun to show signs of happiness, but there were still some lingering doubts. Is it possible, did it really happen, that a dead person just rose and came back to life? But it has never happened before in all history. It would be wonderful if it was real; but was it?

            Those doubts would just not go away. So, Jesus had recourse to Scripture. At least, they would believe Scripture, they would believe Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Jesus reminded them that Scripture had foretold his death and resurrection. And Scripture could not be mistaken in its predictions. His resurrection happened in fulfillment of Scripture, no more, no less. That began to convince the disciples at last, at long last. But it would not end there.

            The disciples, once convinced, would now have to be witnesses of the resurrection to the world at large. That is, they could not, they were not entitled to keep the secret of the resurrection to themselves. It was such a momentous event, the like of which had never been seen before. You don’t keep that kind of thing to yourself. It was Good News, the best news ever to have happened. You don’t ever keep good news under the lid. You spread it abroad, you let the whole world hear it.

            That is exactly what the disciples did with their Good News that he rose from the dead, never more to die. It is what the Church and all Christendom have been doing for over two thousand years. They will continue to do it until there will be no one else to tell that Good News.

Individual Christians should discard the earlier theories of seeing a “ghost” and join in spreading the Good News of the resurrection. Preach the Good News with your life and deeds. Once we have been convinced that it is true, that he rose from the dead, we become duty-bound to spread that Good News. We have no right to keep it to ourselves. It is not ours to keep or tell. That is how we become witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus to the men and women of our time and age who are yet to be reached with the Good News that he has risen from the dead. Jesus is not a ghost; he is alive in our midst. Doubt no longer but believe.