Almost all of us have had that moment where we were near a celebrity or someone famous (or infamous), perhaps an athlete, and were completely unaware of who they were. It is only later when someone tells us who the person was or we replay the interaction in our heads that we have that forehead-smacking moment and exclaim, “So that’s who that was!” If we are so inclined we will then beat ourselves up about it for the next little while forgetting, as we all to easily do, that we are just as human as everyone else and just as prone to not notice who is around us.
With the reminder that this experience is common to us all, perhaps we should be less hard on Cleopas and his companion as the encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaeus. I know we are very tempted to say, “If I had been there, I would have recognized Jesus immediately!” but that is a temptation best risen above. Rather, let us spend a moment or two thinking that if Cleopas, and others, didn’t immediately recognize Jesus when he was there with them, when and where might we fall into the same thing. This Sunday’s sermons are trying to answer the question, when has Jesus ministered to me and I didn’t see him?
We are not talking about someone channeling Jesus, rather, we are going to think about what it means that Jesus loves us and ministers to us not just through the mystical spiritual experience but also through the fully corporeal experience with the agency of other human beings.
Knox Presbyterian So that’s who that was!
St. Mark’s Presbyterian So that’s who that was!
It is my hope that these sermons will help you to be more aware of how much you are loved and cared for by Jesus as he chooses to love and care for us through other people. Speaking of whom, this Sunday makes 23 years since Heather and I were married, she is one of Jesus’ greatest gifts to me.
Blessings,
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