A Reflection on Luke 24:36-48.
Opening Prayer:
Jesus our Lord and Savior,
You are the eternal and Living God,
Who rose up from the dead on the third day
Make us recognize your living presence in our midst
That we may become your witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Amen.
How would you react if you see somebody you knew was already dead? Imagine the patient you just pronounced dead a few days ago is now alive and up on his feet?
This is what the disciples experienced. Jesus died three days ago and now Jesus appeared before his disciples. The Gospel of Luke says the disciples were surprised, why? Would you be surprised too?
And then to prove to his disciples Jesus is really alive and it is really him, he shows his nail marks and wounds. And then after doing these, Jesus asks for food, can you tell me why?
The Gospel tells us that Jesus is alive. That is the good news. We have a risen Christ, he is not dead!
But, what does it mean to have a Living Lord? What does it mean to you?
As Christians in the workplace, we are like the disciples of Jesus. We are scared because we think our Lord is dead. And so our faith is also dead. It shows how we manifest our faith in our workplace. Can you tell me how do you show your Christian faith in your workplace?
Is your faith dead like you worship a dead God, or is your faith alive appropriate for a living God? As Christians in the workplace, our task is to be witnesses to our workplace – our own Jerusalem, that Christ is alive. My favourite analogy about Christian living is that our Christian life here on earth is like a training of what our life is in heaven. We start learning here on earth what we will be doing in heaven forever. If we have a living faith, we should act, speak and think everyday like Jesus would, then we get to experience a little of heaven.
Showing our faith is like prescribing medicine. We prescribe a certain Brand A of Co-Amoxiclav because we trust this medicine to be effective. Our trust in the medicine could be due to many reason. On the other hand, we do not prescribe the other Brand B because we know it will not be effective. Similarly, we show our Christian faith because we truly trust and believe that Christ is risen. If we have some doubts about Christ being the Son of God or of Christ being risen from the dead then we do not proclaim it just like we do not prescribe untrustworthy drugs. Therefore, we are witnesses thate Jesus is alive because we believe it to be so.
We can be witnesses of a living Christ through showing of a living faith. One Christian discipline demonstrating a living faith is prayer. But, how often do you pray? A living faith prays every time, everywhere. And so my brothers and sisters; be witnesses that Jesus is alive by showing in your workplace that you have a living faith. Practice being a Christian to show a living faith. Pray always.
Now, who wants to be a witness that their faith is alive? Who wants to lead us in closing prayer?
Closing Prayer:
Eternal and Living God
Who is the giver of all life
Breath unto us your Holy Spirit that our faith may once again be alive and dynamic
Awaken our sleeping souls and send us to become witnesses of the risen Christ starting in the Jerusalem of our workplace throughout the ends of the earth. Amen.
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