I) When have you not recognised someone?
Have you ever been on holiday and seen someone from home,
but not recognised them for a minute or two?
Or at the cinema, or in the queue at the bakery, or the chemist, or the supermarket, – someone you know perfectly well, but for a split second, didn’t recognise them?
Why do you think you didn’t recognise them?
Here are some ideas I had:
*Senior moment and memory fail!
*Not expecting them in that place – didn’t expect them
to like that movie, or shop there
*They may have looked different
That first-thing-in-the-morning look …
That just-walked-the-dog-in-the-rain look …
Illness – folks can look a lot different out in the garden
from how they looked when we visited them in
hospital, surrounded by medical kit and all dishevelled away from normal shower/bath routine, and normal clothes – like Jan Wyatt, looking much more her normal self here than she did in hospital
II) Recognising Jesus today
So, we talked about not recognising people, and we’ve just heard the story of friends of Jesus not recognising him on the road to Emmaus.
But what a wonderful moment when they finally did recognise him! We can see the excitement in this painting by Carivaggio of the supper at Emmaus when Jesus’ friends finally recognised him.
Jesus has broken bread to give thanks for that somewhat scrawny chicken on the table, and they suddenly see who it is! One man has his arms out in astonishment, and the man at the front is leaping out of his chair in surprise!
And then they went out and shared the good news, hotfooting it back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles!
This appearance was really the second that happened that day of resurrection.
The first was when Mary Magdalene had her face to face encounter with Jesus, thinking him to be the gardener.
The appearances continued over the next few weeks. He appeared to the apostles, and had a particularly special encounter in one of those appearances with Thomas, who needed to see and confirm for himself that it really was Jesus. And then there’s the meeting by the lake when the apostles are fishing (I love that story, such an extraordinary meeting in such an ordinary setting).
All these people talked about the events, they were remembered by many after they’d heard, and they are recorded in the Bible for us to read. But it can still be hard to believe, to recognise the truth about it all when we hear it from the Bible.
It’s been said that Thomas is there in our place. His story is, if you like, a journalist’s report for us. When he saw Jesus and was able to touch the marks on Jesus’ body where the nails had been and where he’d been pierced by the sword, he believes, his response is absolute, “My Lord and my God.” All doubt is swept away, and his story is there to tell us, again, that Jesus did rise from the dead, that he truly did come back to life. We can have confidence in his telling. Now many people find there are many things that can get in the way of us believing what is recorded. You may have questions yourself!
But in spite of that, many of you will have had an experience of recognising Jesus in our own 21st century. Answered prayer is sometimes a starting point. (At this point in the sermon, people shared stories they’d heard about recognising Jesus in their lives, or stories they’d heard about others. Have a chat with a friend and share your experiences
It’s good to hear these stories from each other, ordinary Christians, ordinary people, trying to live a life following Christ here in Amington. And that’s one reason it’s good to chat with each other Sunday by Sunday about our spiritual lives, it’s encouraging, it helps us to support each other.
I’ll share a story about recognising God’s presence in my life. My parents lived in Canada, and it was our habit to speak regularly, usually on a Sunday. Sometimes these conversations were pretty routine, but sometimes they were particularly good, thoughts and ideas to share and discuss. One Sunday, we’d had a particularly good chat, I felt really good about it. I don’t know why, but just after we finished, I opened my Bible and read Proverbs 25:25, “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.”
Out of all the universe that God created,
out of all the span of time over which he is Lord,
he cared enough about me
to show me through his word that he was thinking about me,
that he was sharing, emphasising the importance of,
that heart-warming moment in my life.
It wasn’t a big thing about what the future might hold for our children (who were young teenagers at the time),
nor a great insight about how to have a perfect marriage (I’m still waiting for that one!)
but Jesus promises if we are faithful in the small things,
he’ll reveal greater things to us.
I think it might be extended (you may or may not agree with me) –
If we learn to see him in the small things, he’ll show us bigger things.
And so enlarge our recognition, and our understanding, of Him.
AMAZING!
Take heart everyone, talk about your spiritual lives,
at least in Church on Sundays!
Our God is a God of surprises,
and it warms our hearts and enlarges our faith to hear about them. May our eyes and hearts be open
to recognise Jesus and his involvement in our lives,
so we may spread knowledge of him in our corner of the world,
this week.
Amen.