Pastor’s Pencil: Recognizing the presence of the Lord

On Easter Sunday I spoke about how we all need a personal Easter, that area of our lives which the Lord wishes to heal. What’s challenging is not so much recognizing what needs healing, as recognizing the healer. At the tomb, Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus until he said her name. Jesus was there beside her, but she didn’t know it. This
is an apt experience for us as well. Often, we don’t recognize the Lord’spresence in our life until God gives us “eyes to see.”

Different people come to recognize the Lord in different ways. When Jesus appeared to the disciple Thomas, he had to show him the wounds in his hands and his side. Another time Jesus was walking beside two disciples on the road to Emmaus, but they didn’t realize it was him until he “broke bread” and gave it to them.

What is it that helps us recognize the Lord? Perhaps it’s Holy Communion. Perhaps it’s scripture or prayer. Although we aren’t able to see the physical Jesus any longer, perhaps we encounter the spiritual Jesus in the fellowship of other Christians.

In this Easter season, let’s be alert to the signs of the Lord’s presence in our lives. Then let’s open our hearts and lives to him, with “our hearts burning within us” like the disciples, so that we can experience the many blessings he has in store for us.

See you in church.

Pastor Eric