Rev Michael Cavanagh +353 (0)858 533 173
unregonisable figure standing at the end of a tunnel

Collect for Easter 3

Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: Give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Peter 1: 17-23 

Luke 24: 13-35 

In the ground-breaking 1972 TV series, John Berger’s ‘Ways of seeing’, one sentence speaks out to me. ‘We only see what we look at’.
Over the weeks since Easter, we have read of a number of occasions where people see the resurrected Jesus. One common factor is their initial lack of recognition. Mary thought He was the gardener, and only when He called her by name did she realise who He was – ‘I have seen the Lord!’ she cries out to the apostles. Thomas couldn’t accept resurrection until he saw Jesus’ wounds for himself, and proclaimed Him – ‘My Lord and my God!

On the road to Emmaus, the two disciples walked and talked, but only when He broke bread with them did their eyes open and they realised who had been talking to them on the road, and why their ‘hearts were burning within us’.

Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting Jesus’ followers. It was only when Jesus appeared to Him in person on the Damascus Road that Saul became Paul.

All of these saw His physical body. But Jesus Himself told of those millions upon millions who would believe even though they hadn’t ‘seen’ Him. How can that be? It depends on what you mean by ‘see’.
In each case, Jesus comes to meet them – but only when they ‘look’ can they see Him for who He is. Before that, they had not seen Him ‘with the eyes of their heart’.

He comes to us in so many ways in order that we may see Him.. In creation. In forgiveness. In salvation. In love. In new life. All these free gifts of grace – but it is up to us to choose to see them, with every one of our senses.

As depicted in Holman Hunt’s ‘Light of the World, Jesus comes to us, and waits for us to open the door, recognise and acknowledge Him. He waits for us to ‘look’ – and when we do, we see Him. Our Lord and our God.

Previous Posts

Praying together 30th October 2022

Praying together 30th October 2022

Luke 18: 9-14Ephesians 1:11-23 ‘Saint’ Defn. #1: a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and regarded in Christian faith as being in heaven after death. Well, I’m not dead yet (or at least I wasn’t at the time of writing.) So that’s not me. ‘Saint’ Defn. #2: a very...

read more
Praying Together 16th October 2022

Praying Together 16th October 2022

2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5  Are we there yet? (Title courtesy of Marjorie)Just stop for a moment. Take a look around. How did you get to where you are at this instant in time?  Now have a look into yourself, your heart and mind, and reflect on your journey in faith –...

read more
Praying Together 9th October 2022

Praying Together 9th October 2022

Collect for Trinity 17 Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: Teach us to offer ourselves to your service, that here we may have your peace, and in the world to come may see you face to face;through...

read more
Praying Together 25th September 2022

Praying Together 25th September 2022

Luke 16: 19-31  What will it take to convince you? With thanks to Anselm of Canterbury, and his inspiration Augustine of Hippo, there are two approaches to faith. (Excuse the Latin, but I had five years of it at school and I can’t help showing off sometimes as a...

read more
Praying Together 18th September 2022

Praying Together 18th September 2022

Luke 16: 1-13  To whom do we owe our allegiance?  You cannot serve God and ‘wealth’ Bah. If ever there was a misleading Biblical translation, that’s it. It’s bad enough when the translated phrase reads ‘You cannot serve God and money’. Neither of those words...

read more
Praying Together – 11 September 2022

Praying Together – 11 September 2022

Collect for Trinity 13  Almighty God, who called your Church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: Help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you; through him who was lifted up on the...

read more
Mary’s Story

Mary’s Story

Hello little one. Pleased to meet you. It’s been an eventful few months while I’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Let me tell you all about it.
It started on an ordinary day. I was going about as normal, feeding the chickens, tidying up and that sort of thing.  I wasn’t really concentrating, I was thinking about my wedding to Joseph in a few weeks time.

read more