In one of the episodes of M*A*S*H, the sophisticated shell, inside which Major Winchester protects himself from the horror of the suffering and death with which he constantly deals, breaks; and he is left defenseless. He goes into a type of depression in which he struggles to find some answers to life's most perplexing problem -- death. Finally, in utter desperation, he leaves the base hospital and goes up to the battalion aid station where the wounded are first taken. Colonel Potter discovers where he is and calls him, ordering him to return to the M*A*S*H hospital. A medical corpsman interrupts the conversation and calls the surgeon over to a man who is dying. Winchester confirms the impending death with a glance. The soldier says, "I can't see anything. Hold my hand." The major replies, "I am." "I'm dying," the soldier moans, and this causes the surgeon's unarticulated questions to surface: "Can you see anything? Can you feel anything? I have to know." But the dying soldier doesn't answer. Instead, he says, "I smell bread."

You cannot miss the significance of the symbol. Bread is the symbol for Christ. It is a symbol for going home. It is at the table that we are brought face to face with the person and mission of Jesus Christ. In that meal, we celebrate our death and our life in Christ. But Christ doesn't allow us, any more than he allowed the disciples, to relax and enjoy the fellowship of his table, simply talking about the Lord and what the resurrection experience means to us as though that's all there is to the Easter appearances of the Lord.

If we dare to say, "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" We are enjoined to listen and respond to what else he has to say: "You are my witness (Luke 24:48)." Just as the disciples witnessed in the first century of the Christian era, it is our business to show the world by what we do and say that the Lord is really alive and that he is, indeed, the Lord of all. That's a significant part of the continuing story about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who hear it and believe that it is true are charged with the responsibility of passing it on to the rest of the world so that all people will have the opportunity to hear and believe.