11 April, Tuesday – Recognising Jesus

Easter Tuesday

Acts 2:36-41
Jn 20:11-18

She knew him

The number 10,000 has popped into prominence in the self-development industry of late. It has been said that in order to achieve complete mastery in any subject, one has to be doing that activity for a minimum of 10,000 hours.

My children have always loved eating pizza for as long as I can remember. As a very young child, my daughter enjoyed pizza so much that the cost became almost prohibitive. To save money, I started learning how to make pizza at home. The earliest efforts were often stodgy and floppy, although I followed the recipes I had either gotten off cookbooks or from friends (the Internet was not quite the powerhouse it is today). Having said that, the family often (although not always!) enjoyed the final products.

Fast forward to today — I no longer need to work on recipes, and I can tell the consistency of the dough just by looking or touching it. Instinctively, I know if I need to add any other ingredients to balance out the flavours or textures. I recognise the raw ingredients by their smell and can tell if they are good, or off.

All this comes about simply because I have done one thing — I have spent a lot of time making pizza.

In today’s Gospel, we see Mary Magdalene recognise Jesus the moment He chose to reveal Himself to her. I have wondered if I have missed seeing Jesus in my life because I have not spent enough time on my relationship with Him in prayer, reading the bible, or in reflection. Even if I did recognise Him, is my relationship with Him deep? When I read the Gospel, I see Mary as someone so filled with love for our Lord, and someone so filled with sadness when she thought that the body of Jesus had been taken away.

Let us build our figurative 10,000 hours with God. Let us spend more time with Him, learning His thoughts and ways. Let us spend more time reading the bible, praying, reflecting and in service for others.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Father, we pray for the faith to continue to want to spend time knowing You and loving You.

Thanksgiving: We are grateful for Your love for us. Thank You for always reaching out to us; for showing us the way to become more intimate with You!