He rises from the dead without moving the tomb stone.
He appears in a locked room.
He eats food while He is there and...
He disappears at the end.
He appears to hundreds of His followers in many different places in a short period of time.
And finally, He ascends into heaven.
How does Jesus do that?
As true as it is that Jesus is a man, He is also God. You can imagine this allows Him to do things (as a man) that mankind can otherwise not do. And in the weeks following Easter, Jesus is on a rampage of glory. He is purposefully displaying His divine characteristics while maintaining His human ones. He eats - has His disciples touch Him - then leaves the room in the blink of an eye. And, as always, Jesus is trying to teach us something.
The Biblical accounts do not describe Him entering - they describe Him "coming" - "appearing" - "revealing that He is already there" - even as a man. We all know God is everywhere, that He sees all, hears all, knows all. But because of the incarnation - that is, the Son of God assuming humanity into His person - Jesus is everywhere, sees all, hears all, knows all - AS A MAN!
St. Paul writes, "He who descended is the One who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things." Let's be clear. Paul knows the Son of God filled all things before He descended. Now He fills all things as a man. A human being is in the position of ALL power. And that human being died for you, rose for you, loves you beyond telling and is always watching out for you.
And mysteriously enough, this is also how our Lord is able to come to His people in His Holy Supper, all over the world, all the time. Christ has placed His perfect humanity - the new kingdom - the restored, resurrected, sinless, death defeating, Satan shunning body and blood that hung on the cross - into a simple, free meal that He instituted for this very purpose - that you always know He is there for you and your HUMAN salvation.
Drink deep. For you drink the life of God.
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