“When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher) – John 20:14-16
Say whaaaat?
How are we supposed to make sense of these resurrection appearances of Jesus where the people closest to him don’t recognize him.
Come on! They saw him just days before and they knew what he looked like, they knew who he was. But within days, they can’t recognize Jesus even though he is there talking with them?
This is truly hard to believe.
And as I wrote that in my journal, I wondered how often I miss Jesus in the world around me.
The Bible is clear.
- Jesus is Immanuel – God with us
- Jesus promised that wherever there are two or more gathered in his name that he is present
- Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit to be present with us
- Jesus invites us to dwell and abide in him, and he in us
In the midst of this pandemic, are we so focused on the virus that we fail to see Jesus and his followers at work all around us? God is at work all around us. God is here. We are never alone. The fingerprints of God are all around us…if we would just open our eyes and our hearts. Can you see him? Can you see Jesus?
Open your eyes. Open your heart. See Jesus and his presence all around us.
Praxis: Faith in Action 