Knew not that it was Jesus

We see them all the time, but they are often invisible.

They are the landscapers, working in the dirt on their hands and knees by the sidewalk.

They are the people who quietly empty trashcans and clean up soda spills amid the hubbub of the shopping mall.

They are the cleaning people washing out toilets and scrubbing floors late into the night.

We see them all the time, but we often pay them no attention - as if they were invisible.

In today’s Gospel (John 20:11-18), Mary Magdalene gets involved in a conversation with some she thinks to be a landscaper.

She "knew not that it was Jesus."

This Gospel account is more than just a wonderful anecdote about that blessed day of Christ's resurrection, it also reminds us of something our Lord says in Matthew’s Gospel (25:40).

Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.

We need to treat everyone we meet as if they were Christ: not just our family, friends and fellow churchgoers, but also people in need and people that too many of us treat as invisible.

Likewise, we must remember that we ourselves should live, speak, and act as representatives of Christ to others.

God forbid that people should know us and know not – from the way we live, speak and act - that we are Christians (merely saying that we are Christians doesn't really count – and is often counterproductive).

May we always recognize Jesus in those we meet and may we always proclaim our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by the way we live, speak and act.

Go to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father and your Father;
and to my God and your God.