“Have you anything to eat?” Such an ordinary question, in a situation that was far from ordinary. “Have you anything to eat?”
The disciples are hiding out in the upper room, where they shared their last supper with Jesus. They are confused, frightened, lost, and alone. Jesus, their teacher and friend, has been killed by the Romans. Three years before each had made the decision to give up their livelihoods, to leave behind family and friends, and to make their life as disciples of Rabbi Jesus. They had imagined that they would spend many years at his side, learning, debating, gradually being given more roles in teaching their own students. That is how it worked.
But then, suddenly, three short years into this endeavor, it was all over. Their Rabbi had been crucified. Nothing made sense. Into the void, came the fears. The authorities had seen Jesus as a challenge to their authority, a challenge to Roman rule, a challenge to the Roman enforced stability, and so they crucified what they considered to be a dissident and a rabble-rouser. It didn’t take long for the disciples to wonder if they too might be arrested and crucified. After all, they were known to be disciples of Jesus. But they hadn’t been arrested yet, not that night in the garden when Jesus was arrested, and not in the hours as they watched at a distance as Jesus died on the cross. There had been no pounding on the door, announcing the arrival of Roman soldiers to take them away. So maybe, if they laid low and stayed out of sight, they might be fine.
So, they waited, startled by every little noise, wondering if this was the moment when the soldiers would come. I think of the same situation that has happened in many places throughout the centuries: Protestants worshipping in secret in the early 1500’s fearing arrest and burning at the stake or Jewish people hidden in fear or the Dutch resistance hiding from the Nazi soldiers.
For the disciples, a noise did come, but it came right from the middle of the room, not from outside. The voice of Jesus said, “Peace, my friends. Don’t be afraid. It’s me, touch & see. Oh & by the way, do you have something to eat?”