Risen: Readings for EasterSample

The Resurrected Jesus surprises us.

Because we need the eyes to see Him as He is.

When Mary stood outside the tomb, weeping her eyes out over her missing friend and Lord, Jesus appeared to her. She was a woman who knew Jesus, who had walked with Jesus, dined with Jesus, conversed with Jesus. If anyone would recognize Him, it would be her.

And yet, she didn’t.

Until she did!

Jesus revealed His true nature to her and everything was different from then on out. The glorious, surprising news had broken—Jesus was alive!

It took a special revelation for Mary to see the Resurrected Jesus, and the same holds true for us. How many times have we encountered the Resurrected Jesus in the world without recognizing Him? Have we missed Him in the eyes of passersby, of grocery store clerks, of an unhoused person sleeping on a city street?

Have we missed Him at work in our own lives? Have we unknowingly negated His resurrection power in the ways we’ve treated others or ourselves? In the lies we’ve told ourselves or believed about others?

Let us be on the lookout for the Resurrected Jesus wherever He may choose to appear to us. Let us pray for our eyes to be opened so that we can recognize Him for the surprising, glorious, Resurrected One that He is.