Be Seen

BE SEEN

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Quiet my mind. Open my heart.

Give me ears to hear your invitation and the faith to respond.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy! . . . Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas . . . , was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” . . .

Later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Jesus’ words in today’s passage are so personal and intimate, spoken to meet the exact need he saw in each person. To Mary, who somehow didn’t recognize him in her despair, he spoke her name, gently making his presence known with a single word. To the disciples fearing for their lives, Jesus spoke peace and gave them the Holy Spirit by his very breath. Jesus called the disbelieving Thomas close and extended his wounds for Thomas to feel.

• When you first decided to believe in Jesus, what need was he meeting in you (for example, your need for grace, purpose, belonging)?
• Read today’s passage again slowly. What invitation about being seen do you sense Jesus extending to you?
• Who do you know who thinks they are too needy or have too many doubts to be loved by Jesus right now? Seek God’s guidance as to how you might be able to invite them to be met by Christ in the midst of their need.

Loving God, thank you for the invitation to be seen, truly seen, in all my need. Thank you that you speak words right into the insecurity and burdens I carry. I bring my needs to you now and pray that you would whisper words that only you know will bring comfort. Help me to be someone who sees others with your eyes and offers words of grace, healing, and hope. Amen.