2014-04-22   Ron W. Nikkel  (Prison Fellowship International)

 
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            Jesus Incognito 

 

Ever get something in your head?
It's nothing you heard
Or something you read
Ever had a cut but you never saw a blade?
Brought to your knees
But you never prayed
Jesus in disguise
Jehovah passing by
The burden of a tear
Hanging in your eye
Jesus in disguise
A scar across the sky
You were looking for a king
You would never recognize…
So open my eyes wide as I can
Blind as I am…

(From “Jesus in Disguise” by Brandon Heath)

 
Why Mary did not recognize him is a mystery; if ever there was someone she should have recognized it was the man who was her friend and teacher, the man she dearly loved.  How could she have mistaken Jesus for the gardener?  And how could two of his followers mistake Jesus to simply be a fellow traveller on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus?  But then we may not have recognized him either.  So many people, then as now, don’t see him because they don’t believe he is alive.
 
The resurrection of Jesus is a wonderful story, a magnificent inspiring story of triumph over inhumanity and injustice, evil and the dark reality that threatens every one of us – death.  If the story is true that Jesus defeated death, then He did just come back to life for a time - but for all time and lives among us still.   So if Jesus was standing next to us or walking down the street with us or grilling fish on the shore of a lake – would we recognize him?
 
Martin of Tours grew up in a Roman military family that was not particularly religious other than in a traditional pagan sort of way.  Against the grain of family expectations and the cultural ethos in which he grew up Martin increasingly found himself attracted to a man called Jesus who had risen from the dead, and who was being worshipped by a small but growing number of people who believed that he was God.  Despite his parents wishes, Martin began meeting with a group of believers and it wasn’t long before he became one of them.  As his spiritual thirst to know Jesus more intimately so did his desire to devote his whole life to him.
 
Although it was the last thing Martin wanted to do, in keeping with family tradition and expectations he joined the army and served in a largely ceremonial heavy cavalry unit.  On one bitterly cold St. Martin of Toursand blustery day as he was returning to the garrison with his unit Martin happened to see a ragged beggar stumbling along the roadway.  His clothes were so thin and ragged that he was practically naked and his wheezing, shivering body was turning blue with cold.  Seized with compassion for the man, Martin broke from the formation of soldiers, reined in his horse and dismounted beside the quaking beggar.  Quickly he removed his heavy military tunic, cut it in half with his sword and handed one half to the shivering man in rags and wrapped the other half around his own shoulders. 
 
Martin’s impetuous act and “half-cloak” uniform made him the laughingstock of his comrades’ jokes throughout the evening.  But that night as he slept Martin had a dream in which he saw Jesus surrounded by angels; Jesus was wearing the “half-cloak” that Martin had given to the ragged beggar.  “See,” Jesus was saying to the angels, “this is the cloak that Martin gave me.”  That night Martin’s eyes were opened in a new way to the reality of his faith and the presence of Jesus, and he soon left the army to follow Jesus as a simple monk.
 
Like Mary in the garden and Cleopas with his companion walking along the road, Martin’s eyes had to be opened to recognize the presence of Jesus.  Mary Magdalene was weeping near the entrance of the empty tomb when Jesus came and stood beside her.  She saw him but did not recognize him, assuming him to only be the gardener until he spoke her name.  Cleopas and his companion were walking to Emmaus from Jerusalem when they were joined by a fellow traveller.  They became so engrossed in conversation about Jesus and all that had taken place in Jerusalem that on reaching their destination they invited him in for supper and to stay the night.  As they sat down at table the guest began to break bread and give it to them, suddenly their eyes were opened and they knew that their guest was actually the risen Jesus.
 
We also walk in blindness, too seldom recognizing Jesus among the people who cross our path through daily life.  Mother Teresa said that we fail to recognize Jesus because he often comes to us in disguise, sometimes in distressing disguises that cause us to look the other way – beggars on the street, homeless kids and families, migrant workers, prisoners and ex-prisoners, poor people living on welfare, political opponents, and so many others.  On one occasion Mother Teresa stood near an open grave where the dead bodies of lepers had been thrown and were being covered with lye.  Looking into the grave, she bowed her head saying “Jesus, what have they done to you?” 
 
St. Martin’s eyes were opened to realize that the cloak he gave to the poor beggar was being worn by Jesus.  Mother Theresa’s eyes were opened to see the face of Jesus in the poor and dying people of Calcutta.  Mary’s eyes were opened to Jesus standing beside here in her grief.  Cleopas and his companion realized that their fellow traveller and guest was Jesus.  How often, I wonder, does the risen, living Jesus come up beside us during and we fail to recognize him because we don’t expect to see him – we don’t look for the living Jesus in real life.  Jesus doesn’t only wear distressing disguises, for he often shows up among familiar faces we expect to see in the shops and streets and work places of everyday life. 
 
Jesus the Christ is risen and he is really present.
 

 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus …
They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 
As they talked and discussed these things with each other,
Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 
but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 
One of them, named Cleopas, asked him,
“Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know
 the things that have happened there in these days?” 
“What things?” he asked. 
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied….
As they approached the village to which they were going,
Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 
But they urged him strongly,
“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”
 So he went in to stay with them. 
When he was at the table with them,
 he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

(From Luke 24:14-35 NIV)

 

© Copyright by Ronald W. Nikkel, Article may be reprinted with acknowledgement


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Ron NikkelTHE CORACLE is published weekly as a reflection on faith and life.  It is available free by subscription.  The name CORACLE - refers to a small leather boat that was typically used by Celtic monks during the 8th and 9th Centuries.  One of the most famous was St. Brendan the Navigator who undertook a missionary voyage of faith. Without navigational maps and instruments he trusted that by waves and wind and current, God would bring him to the place and places where he was meant to be.  Yet far from being fatalistic, his voyage was the deeply spiritual account of a man’s journey in surrendering to the will of God and trusting God to guide and protect him from danger and disaster. Brendan’s voyage became famous as an ideal for the Celtic monks of Ireland who dared to venture into unknown and wild places in order to spread the gospel.  Setting sail in their fragile coracles was at once a courageous act of faith and a profound expression of their passion to follow Jesus Christ no matter where the journey would take them or what the journey would entail.

BOOKS by Ron -  Radical Love in a Broken World  and Your Journey with Jesus are available in print and Kindle format through Amazon  and Christian Focus Publications  
ARTICLES - Ron's articles frequently appear in the Huffington Post and many can be found online at The Huffington Post

Ron Nikkel is President Emeritus of Prison Fellowship International after having led served as the Chief Executive for 32 years.  Ron has traveled extensively meeting with political leaders, criminal justice officials as well church and community leaders in more than 140 countries.  He holds the distinction of having been in more prisons in more countries than any other person.  Considered a leading voice for Justice that leads to restoration and reconciliation, Ron is in demand as a speaker on issues of justice and faith, justice and society.
 
BOOKS by Ron -  Radical Love in a Broken World  and Your Journey with Jesus are available in print and Kindle format through Amazon  and Christian Focus Publications  

ARTICLES - Ron's articles frequently appear in the Huffington Post and many can be found online at The Huffington Post

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