Easter Sunday has come and gone. What next? Well, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to people.
“…he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…” (1 Cor 15:5-6).
Can you try to imagine what it might have felt like to see him? Surprise, definitely. Uncertainty, certainly. What about a sense of reassuring familiarity? Yes, I think this would have been a comforting experience. They needed to see him. They probably didn’t know how much they needed to see him until they saw him. When the globe stops spinning and starts spinning in the other direction, we need connections and reminders of life as we know it.
Which way is the globe spinning these days? I have no idea. What world is this? I have to pinch myself about ten times a day and ask, “Is all of society really shut down?” It doesn’t seem real. Am I the only one feeling like this? Does all this seem sort of unreal to you?
Since the globe is spinning the wrong way these days, we all need connections and reminders of life as we know it. The Lord appears to each of us in varied important ways (e.g., through the words of other people, in scripture, through prayer, in moments of spiritual awareness, among other ways), and I encourage us all to keep our eyes peeled for him. He is there. We need those points of connection.
We also need to see each other. We need to “appear” to each other. We need to hear each other’s voices. We need to look each other in the eyes. We need to hear each other laugh. Our mental health depends on it. Our physical health may depend on it too, but I’ll leave that up to the researchers.
So, while we can’t be physically present with each other yet, there are ways that we are connecting, and I encourage you strongly to take part. Jump in. Try one of our virtual homes groups. Join one. Don’t be shy. Let me know which one, and I’ll get you the access code information. We need this now. We need the “Body of Christ” to appear to us.
Your Fellow Minister in Christ,
Mark