The Stranger
I hope you had a wonderful Easter. Perhaps you had an Easter egg, or two, maybe a hot cross bun, and enjoyed the long bank holiday weekend.
In our church we had two gatherings. The first was on Good Friday, which was a reflective time looking at the events which led to Jesus’ death.
Then on Easter Sunday the church building was packed as we celebrated the risen Jesus with joyful singing whilst the kids waved flags they had made.
One child asked me what Jesus’ body was like after he had been resurrected. I thought this was a deep question for such a young child!
I said that the Bible tells us a few things about Jesus’ resurrection body: It looked the same as our bodies – not bigger or smaller, and no wings or halo. Jesus was able to eat food too.
However, this body was different. It was real, as the Disciples could touch Jesus and see the scars he had, and yet this resurrection body could appear in and disappear from locked rooms.
Jesus could also somehow disguise/hide that it was him. This is mentioned in the last part of the book of Luke. After Jesus had died and was buried, a couple of his close friends walked from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus.
As they walked, a stranger met them, and they spoke together about what had gone on in Jerusalem. The stranger knew a lot about the prophets of old and the ancient Jewish texts, which he shared with them. At one point on the journey, they stopped to eat…
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”
The stranger was the risen Jesus! Before the great reveal, something was already going on in the two listening to him as their hearts ‘burned’ as he spoke. I would have loved to have been there to see this play out!
This shows me that God can work in people, even when they are not expecting it, and can’t see the full picture.
I do believe that God is always at work, even if we are not aware of it. There are many creative ways that God reveals who He is.
Let me encourage you to be mindful, open and aware, as God may just be speaking to you…
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader