On that long ago first Easter evening in the house where the disciples were gathered in fear, Christ Jesus came and stood among them (Jn.20:19), “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” God opened their hearts to receive the word of the Lord in a new way, to see beyond the word on the scrolls, to the living Word. In Christ Jesus’ resurrection appearances to his disciples, he revealed himself to each and all in ways they could understand and receive. To Mary Magdalene, it was calling her by name (Jn.20:16). To the couple on the way to Emmaus, it was in the breaking of the bread (Lk.24:30-31). To Thomas, it was the wounds in Christ’s resurrected body (Jn.20:27-28). To the disciples in today’s gospel when the wounds didn’t do it, he ate a piece of broiled fish. For Paul, it was being struck blind on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-9). Whatever it takes for each of us to accept the revelation of God’s incredible love is how God reaches us here and now, to call us to be witnesses to the presence of the Divine in our world today.

How the Holy One uses our witness is as different as our individual experiences of God. Often, we may not even know that God is incarnating the Living Word in us to be God’s presence in the world. For example, a friend’s teenage son died twenty years ago. On his birthday recently, his sister posted him on Facebook, and over 150 folks responded with fond memories of how he had impacted their lives. He very likely would not have imagined that he meant so much to so many folks. That was certainly true of my mother who died a couple of months ago. She, who had the most profound gift of humility, thought she had no gifts. A true servant of God, she always worked in the background, doing what needed to be done, never seeking the limelight, wanting no praise, putting first everyone who came her way, just lovingly serving in God’s vineyard. Untold numbers of folks came out of the woodwork to tell my sister and me what a saint she had been to them and how her love of God had shone so brightly in her life that it drew them into the light of God’s love right along with her.

Just like those early disciples, when God is revealed to us, when we meet the risen Lord and come to know the Living Word, we are changed, and it will be evident in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not.