Have you ever asked the question, “Why did the resurrected Jesus reveal himself in different forms at different times to people?” The first person that Jesus revealed himself to after the resurrection was Mary Magdalene in the garden and yet she did not recognize him until she heard Him speak her name. On the Emmaus Road we are told that Jesus appeared to them in a different form, and their eyes were open to recognize him in the breaking of the bread. In the upper room on the first night after the resurrection when Jesus walked through the closed doors it says that when Jesus showed them both his hands and his side, the disciples “rejoiced when they saw the Lord,” and in John 21 when seven of the disciples were out fishing and Jesus was standing at the shore preparing breakfast for them they did not know it was Christ. I know that some people would say that Jesus revealed himself in a different form because he was now living in a body, but it was now a glorified body that can pass through walls. Of course, he did have a different kind of body in his resurrected state but those who saw him in the upper room, why didn’t they recognize the same resurrected Jesus when he was standing on the shore in John 21, unless his resurrected body took on different forms. I believe that there are a number of answers as to why Jesus revealed himself at different times in different forms, and I believe it’s because Christ was trying to teach them and us, who now read the accounts of all of his appearances, that Jesus comes to us in different ways at times, and it is important that when he comes to us in a different form we don’t reject His manifestation because it doesn’t look like something we saw before, and I believe that is one of the reasons that Jesus told Mary Magdalene in John 21 not to cling to him. Jesus obviously could have just slipped out of her arms in a supernatural way, but I believe that what he was possibly trying to tell her her to not cling to what she had known in the past so that she could embrace something new that she had never experienced before. We should always carry in our heart what we have experienced of Christ but it is so important that we don’t allow what we have experienced of Christ, that we are now comfortable with, to keep us from experiencing a fresh encounter with Jesus when he wants to come to us in the many different forms that He does. Some people seem only to be able to recognize and encounter Him in the sacraments, while others see him in the Scriptures. Yet, others recognize him when he does something miraculous like the miracle of the catch of fish in John chapter 21. The exciting thing is that Jesus wants to come to us in all kinds of ways, and we mustn’t become so comfortable with what we’ve known that we cling to it. Some of you may feel very comfortable seeing Jesus in the Eucharist, or in reading Scriptures, or in prayer or worship, but don’t limit Jesus because sometimes he will want to come to you in ways that seem exotic. I believe that Thomas has gotten a bad rap over the years because I love the fact that after hearing that Jesus showed the other disciples his hands and his side, Thomas clamored for that experience. When Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas, He told him to reach his hand and put it into His side. That would be a weird experience, but that’s how Jesus showed himself to Thomas. Permit Jesus to reveal himself to you in any way he wants to, because every time he does, no matter what form He takes, it is meant to change your life. I know that Jesus told Thomas and the other disciples that there is a special blessing for those who believe even though they don’t see, but that did not keep Jesus from again and again coming to people in different forms. Jesus knows that sometimes we need those kind of moments to help us to believe.
