Is that you, Jesus?

  

We’re looking for him everywhere.

This morning, having just enjoyed the view of the Shenandoah Valley from the ridge of a community garden, I’m walking briskly back along the gravel path, heading home. I pass a few people a stone’s throw away, talking among themselves. I vaguely register something said, like “Is that Mark?”

Then as I leave the property, I hear someone behind me call, “Hey, Mark!” I turn to see a man, one of the three people I passed, looking expectantly at me.

I say, without thinking, “I’m not Mark.”

“Oh, sorry,” he says.

I do wonder, then, if I should have said yes. Maybe Mark is far more interesting than me. They seemed genuinely excited to see him. But then again, maybe he owes them money!

There are two oddities about Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. As I wrap up my long study of John, these strike me as curious.

First, Jesus wasn’t readily recognized. We see this with Mary Magdalene, who confuses him with the gardener. Granted, tears could have blurred her vision. It isn’t until he speaks her name that she realizes who he is.

On the Road to Emmaus, the two disciples who walk with Jesus for hours also don’t connect this stranger to their Lord. There is something about his appearance that veils their ability to identify him. Until he breaks bread.

Then there is the scene, almost an epilogue to John’s gospel, where Jesus waits on the shore for his fisherman disciples to notice him. They do, but don’t realize it’s their Master. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that maybe he was far away, though Tissot, in this rendering, puts Jesus close enough to be identified.

I suggest there is a simple explanation: Jesus was wearing pants!  Of course, I’m joking, though I do wonder why we think he is eternally obligated to wear first-century robes.

The second oddity is the spacing of his appearances. John tells us that a week passes between his first appearance to the disciples and the second, when Thomas is with them. Then another week passes before they see him on the shore of the Galilean Sea.

Why the intervals?

I wonder if it isn’t that in both mysteries, he wanted them to watch for him. Because he showed up irregularly, they must have been constantly primed to meet him. “Maybe today!” could have been their greeting to each other in the street. Any movement out of the corner of one’s eye could be the Lord, returned.

And any stranger could turn out to be him. How that must have altered and charged their interactions in public!

So, I ask myself this question: Is that you, Jesus?  Where does he show up unexpectedly in my life? Better yet, we should help each other by pointing out when we see someone acting in his name who, through that action, bears his likeness.

Then we can be like John, the disciple Jesus loved, in recognizing, “It is the Lord!”

Lord Jesus, you still appear among us through the actions done in your name, your grace and your power. Help us to see recognize you in our midst.

Reader: when have you “seen” Jesus in the actions of others?