Letter from Jon, May 2025
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.
John 20:18
Dear Liberty Family and Friends
Last Sunday, as many of you will know, we looked at John’s account of Christ’s resurrection with a particular focus on Mary Magdalene, the first person to meet Jesus after he rose from the grave, the first person to bow down to worship the risen Christ, the first person sent by Jesus to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen. The Scripture verse above simply says that Mary ‘went to the disciples with the news’, but I don’t suppose, after meeting Jesus and seeing him alive, after being sent specifically by Jesus, that she sauntered off, taking her time I imagine that she ran with all her strength, that she couldn’t wait to tell her friends this incredible news ‘I have seen the Lord’.
Later in this chapter we have the account of Thomas meeting the risen Jesus and declaring ‘My Lord and my God!’, to which Jesus responds ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ I am really struck by this. Mary saw the risen Christ and declared ‘I have seen the Lord’, the disciples met Christ and then declared to Thomas ‘We have seen the Lord’. What an incredible privilege this is to have met Jesus face to face, to be able to declare ‘I have seen the Lord’, and yet Jesus says that those who have not seen and yet believe are blessed. Well that would include you and I! Mary and the disciples were witnesses to what, or rather who, they saw and we too are called to be witnesses to what or who we have seen.
I wonder, in what ways you have seen the Lord, what are you witness to? I don’t mean that you have seen him face to face, though perhaps you have encountered him in dreams and visions. But perhaps you have had an encounter with God in another way. Perhaps you have witnessed his healing in your life or in the life of someone you love. Perhaps you have heard him speak to you through someone else, through a Scripture verse or even a billboard. Perhaps you seen the Lord in the face of someone you have met, loved and served. Perhaps you have heard his whisper guiding you, prompting you, reassuring you. Perhaps you have seen the Lord in someone who has been there for you in the darkest moments in life. Perhaps it was when you realised that this God was real and that you didn’t want to live another day without his presence. Perhaps you have heard the Lord say to you ‘well done, good and faithful servant’.
The truth is we have all experienced the presence of the Lord in different ways, we all have different stories to tell, to witness to, Some of these are dramatic, some of them seem quite ordinary or matter of fact, but they are our stories and they are real stories of broken, flawed people encountering the loving, gracious presence of Jesus.
Let me encourage you to consider your story, the story you have to tell. Let me encourage you as you go into each day to ask and expect to see the Lord in some way, to seek him in the people and the world around you, to invite him to speak, to guide, to walk with you. I pray that in the days to come we have opportunity to share our story, to witness to our encounter with the living God, and in so doing, perhaps to lead another into the presence of the risen Christ.
Much love
Jon
Jon Farrimond, 01/05/2025