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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Supernatural Sight, Heavenly Hearing

God reveals Himself to us in specific ways and at pre-ordained times (John 20:1-18).

Context

• Last summer’s student protests in Bangladesh left hundreds seriously injured, with an estimated 1000 suffering some form of eye trauma.
• Approximately 700 of these patients received emergency care from medics at the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.
• Following the protests, the country’s interim government invited two consultant ophthalmic surgeons (Mahi Muqit and Niaz Islam) from London’s Moorfield Eye Hospital to assess 150 critical patients, in the hope of restoring their sight.
• In the last few days, we have learnt from the headlines that the specialist surgeons were able to save the sight of 24 patients. Those for whom surgery was not appropriate were given a rehabilitation plan.

 

Reflection and ideas for a sermon, talk or conversation

• In this passage, Mary Magdalene discovers that Christ’s body is no longer in the tomb. She calls Simon Peter and John to see. We are told that ‘as yet they [Peter and John] did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead’ (v.8), but they ‘saw and believed’ (v.9). This tells us that God had given them spiritual vision: they were able to interpret the situation through a divine lens rather than with mere human understanding. Rather than believing that the body had been taken away, they discerned that Jesus had risen from the dead. God gave them His sight.
• Acts 10:40-41 teach us that the witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection had been pre-ordained by God. Mary Magdalene, a single woman, was chosen to be the first person to see the risen Saviour – what an honour! Yet we see from our main passage that at first, she does not recognise Him – neither by sight (v. 14), nor by voice (v.15).
• It is when Jesus calls her by her name in verse 16: ‘ “Mary!” ’ that she finally knows who He is. As was the case for Peter and John, Mary does not receive divine understanding until the time is right. It is when Jesus addresses her by name that she truly sees Him and hears Him.
• God calls and speaks to all of us. Yet, He has specific, personal ways in which He reveals Himself to each of us. The way that one receives direction from God may not be how He speaks and shows Himself to another. Isn’t it wonderful that He addresses each of us by name, with a call that is specific to us?
• We need our Father’s eyes and ears to recognise when He is speaking and moving in the world around us. We need divine insight and divine timing to recognise what He's doing.

 

Questions for discussion

• Do you sometimes doubt whether God is moving in the world around you?
• Do you know the ways in which God speaks specifically to you?
• What do you think of the fact that God chose a single woman to be the first person to see the resurrected Saviour?

 

Ruth Akinradewo loves to advocate for the voiceless. Currently, she does this mainly as Communications Manager for the Caribbean & African Health Network.

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Each of the Gospels includes a version of the resurrection and each is different, in both emphasis and the details included. Yet none of these accounts are untrue - we all see the world differently and the disciples are the same as the rest of us in this respect.

In this week’s news we heard about the attack on three prison guards by the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber. I see this as a horrific and unmerited attack, a perspective shared by many including those of the Muslim faith; but he might use that faith to justify his actions. We all view the world through very different lenses, leading to contrasting interpretations of the same events.

Young people live in a pluralistic world, in which they are constantly bombarded by information. How can we support them as they develop filters for this information, to make decisions about what is good and true?

 

Questions for discussion

1. Which platforms do your young people use to get their news?
2. Why did they choose these platforms?
3. Do they know what assumptions underlie these platforms?
4. How do these assumptions fit with their faith?

You may find this BBC Bitesize resource helpful for your discussion.

 

Victoria Etherington is children’s, youth and family’s ministry leader for the Yorkshire North and East Methodist District.

 

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