…Jesus showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Luke 24:40b-43
It's been fun to hear the various accounts of how people experienced the solar eclipse on Monday. Given that the last time the totality of a solar eclipse passed through our area was 1397, it was…kind of a big deal. The arrival of a thick cloud cover just as the action was beginning prevented the viewing experience many had hoped for, but every good short story involves a conflict. And then: “The clouds parted for two seconds, and we got a peek!” Or, “We never saw the sun, but it was still eerie when the totality happened.”
What did you experience? Is there a little detail that you’re already enjoying telling? Reports abound of birds quieting down as crickets wound up, noticeably cooler temperatures arriving as the darkness increased, and the feelings of wonder rising at the cosmic event happening. People went to work or school, or didn’t, and the gray sky got darker still. The event was bigger than the clouds, bigger than us.
I also love encountering the variety of stories we get in scripture bearing witness to Jesus’s resurrection. We have stones rolled away from empty graves, with figures in white proclaiming “he’s not here” while Jesus appears through locked doors, on the seashore, showing wounds, in the breaking of bread, and here, hungry for a bit of fish. With mistaken identities and gentle gifts of peace, the details we get to overhear represent a mix of surprise, fear, disbelief, wonder, reassurance, and joy.
The big is hard to capture; sometimes we behold it better in the small. Savor these Easter stories as we hear them. Let the details catch you and activate your imagining mind. Listening and retelling stories of wonder trains our hearts and minds to find glimpses of resurrection hidden in the everyday.
Easter joy, Ann +