Prejudicial Sight
What makes a story believable?
After Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation." And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it. - Mark 16:9-15,20
I find it hard to understand why the disciples failed to believe the stories they were told about Jesus being seen after the resurrection.
Didn't he tell them these things would happen?
Or was it the fact that at first when Jesus appeared, he wasn't recognized?
We tend to recognize what we expect to see. In the case of Jesus, appearing after the Resurrection, we would expect something like we see in the picture above, Jesus floating on air with a light shining on him.
But Jesus became one of us to be like us. So, we should expect to see Jesus in ordinary ways, through ordinary people. like us.
The man encountered on the road, for example, was not recognized because he was just another guy.
So, maybe that is the message for us. Jesus could be walking among us as anyone, and he may choose not to reveal himself at all.
If we can prejudice our sight not to see him, maybe we can do so to see him. Maybe we can train our eyes to spot Jesus in someone we meet.
And then, once we see him, we might just find there are many who can give us a glimpse of Jesus.
He may be all around us.
More to come...