“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Acts 2:36
We often speak about lightbulb moments. Suddenly, something which was confusing or hazy, becomes clear. Our understanding moves forward.
It can be a moment of joy as well as enlightenment. I am thinking about when a child is struggling with learning something new and suddenly they get it. Or when we're trying to make sense of how to use something and the instructions finally make sense.
There are quite a few lightbulb moments following Jesus' death and resurrection.
The centurion who declares, "surely he was the Son of God" as the earth shakes beneath his feet.
Mary in the garden, when she finally recognises the man she is speaking to as Jesus and not simply a gardener.
The disciples sitting at the table with Jesus in Emmaus - as the bread is broken.
Thomas, when Jesus invites him to touch his side and hands.
Light pierces the darkness of grief and disorientation. Although there is perhaps still some way to go before what it all means is understood.
But the moment the penny drops can also be a moment of humility - as we realise that we had got the wrong idea and our subsequent behaviour was completely out of line.
The story is told of two people sitting next to each other in an airport lounge. One has taken with them a bag of sweets. She begins eating from a bag sitting on the table beside her. The person next to her reaches into the bag and takes a sweet from it. The lady is a bit confused at this behaviour and takes another sweet. The person next to her smiles at her and does the same. This continues and whilst the lady doesn't say anything she is mightily put out that the individual is merrily helping themselves to her sweets. That is, until she happens to look in her handbag and discovers an unopened bag. The penny drops...
We often focus on the reaction of the women and the disciples in the days following Jesus' resurrection. There was great joy but there was also a reckoning. Peter and Thomas both had to face up to what they had said and done.
And then there's the crowd. The people who had cried out for Jesus to be crucified. How crushing were Peter's words on the day of Pentecost? The penny drops that Jesus, whom they have crucified, is both their Lord and their Messiah. We are told they were cut to the heart.
Peter offers them a way to respond. A way that is only possible because of Jesus' death. A way marked by repentance - turning around - facing the right way. A way that will lead to joy.
In our lives, and in church life, we can often get things wrong. We can get the wrong end of the stick. We can make the wrong assumptions. We can act and speak without thinking. We can fail to give others the benefit of the doubt. We can make the wrong choices. We can be convinced of our own righteousness only for the penny to drop and for us to realise that we were very far from being righteous. Thankfully, with the truth dawns upon us, there is a way to respond - a way to begin again. It is marked by repentance and turning around. It can be painful but it is a way made possible for us through the most incredible of sacrificial and loving acts. And it can lead to joy.
As we continue our journey in Eastertide, let us look out for the lightbulb moments and consider what elucidation they bring to our own lives.
Rev Stella
