Recognizing Jesus?
Opening Prayer
Lord, on this day, I pray that I may be aware of Your presence amidst all the busyness I face.
Read John 20:11-18
[11] Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb [12] and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. [13] They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” [14] At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. [15] He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). [17] Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” [18] Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What extraordinary news did Mary take to the disciples?What an incredibly intimate and beautiful story! It is one that is almost so familiar that we lose the shock factor. Mary sees a man and thinks he’s the gardener. She doesn’t recognize Jesus. Many scholars have sought an explanation for this. It could be she was crying so hard that she didn’t see him properly through her tears. An alternative suggestion is that the risen Jesus looked different, especially considering that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus also didn’t recognize him (Luke 24:13-35). Or it could be that Mary did not see Jesus because she was not expecting to! It takes one simple word for Mary to see Jesus. All he says is her name. How often in the busyness of our days do we fail to recognize Jesus’ presence? It is not that Jesus is not revealing himself; it could simply be that we don’t expect him to be there! What difference would it make if, in all that you are facing this day, you could hear the Lord call your name? What a difference that might make your perception of things!
Apply
Imagine yourself with all that you are facing at this moment. Then, picture Jesus approaching you and saying your name.
Closing prayer
Ask Jesus to reveal more of himself in your daily life and through you to others who don’t know him.
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