Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
-Luke 24:41-43

We've got a lot of stories about Jesus showing up after his resurrection. The responses are what you might expect: a mixture of shock, confusion, doubt, and joy. Jesus never seems surprised by the disciples' reactions, though. He is patient with them. He answers their questions. He hangs out with them, giving them time to soak it all in.

In this exchange that Luke describes for us, Jesus shows his hands and feet, and still the disciples are dumbstruck. I imagine Jesus, wanting to humor his disciples, but not wanting to just stand there and be gawked at. So he looks for something to eat. I imagine there was a little smile on his face and a gleam in his eye as he sat down to his seafood dinner.

Certainly, the disciples don't come across as examples of genius in the gospels. They feel joy and disbelief and wonder all at once. And although they would like very much to just go along with Jesus, they have a hard time keeping up with him, understanding him. They flounder around, glad to have a Lord who humors them, but probably wishing that they had a Lord that was a little more predictable. I can't say that I blame them.

I so appreciate Luke's descriptions of the disciples, after they've seen Jesus' hands and feet. "While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering..." It's as true a statement about people of faith as any I've seen. It describes a lot of Christians I know, muddling through a post-Easter life. Joy is there, but also disbelief and wonder. We're glad for our faith, but still have questions. We're grateful for renewed life and hope, but we're pretty confused about how to embrace it. We're longing for a faith that feels secure, but we have so many moments of questioning.

I don't know what questions you have about your own life, about God, about what it means to belong the body of Christ. But I bet you've got a few questions and confusions of your own. Remember: Jesus invited those questions, and we here at Wesley try to do that too. But even when all you can do is stand there with your mouth open, full of joy but also full of disbelief, know that Jesus is still there with you. He'll ponder all that with you, just as we try to do that with each other.

In the end, it's the combination of joy and disbelief and wonder that leads to worship, that leads us to give thanks for the mysteries of creation that lie beyond our comprehension. If we understood the resurrection, it wouldn't have the power that it does. If Jesus were comprehensible, he probably wouldn't have the depths of wisdom and compassion and power and mystery that we need to sustain us in our walks of faith. So let the questions call you to God, let the mystery invite you in, and don't be afraid to stand there in your joy, but still full of disbelief and wondering. It's a good place to be.