On the Lookout

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” John 20:14-15

How many times each day do we turn around, pricked by some realization or thought or noise or person, and not realize that it’s Jesus who is speaking to us? That’s what happened to Mary on that first Easter morning. I wonder if the real issue for her was the same as it is for us: she wasn’t expecting to see Jesus. Or, perhaps to say it more clearly (for us too!), she wasn’t expecting him to be more than an old idea or a dead body. 

What if you went through your hours and your days expecting Jesus to show up? There might be more disappointments - more weeping - at the harshness of the world. And yet, there might be a lot more hope, too. And I mean hope in the sense of a very real and palpable experience of connection with the world beyond, with the living Lord, who is reaching into the mess and muck of our mundane world to remind us of our belovedness and our mission. (I suspect there may be more guidance as well, but that’s over sold in the Christian world; Jesus is less interested in you getting each step of your day right because he’s far more interested in you getting it right about being loved and loving others).

Is there a practical way you could be on the lookout for the risen Lord this day? Perhaps start by practicing just a little bit of silence to let all the busyness of your mind and heart and body slow down so that you can pay more attention this day.