Knowing the Whole Story

I have often wondered why, in the scriptures, it is reported that Jesus instructed numerous people not to reveal that he was the one who had healed them. In the April 2021 issue of Give Us This Day, Barbara Reid sheds some light on this question when she notes, “No one can tell the story of Jesus without knowing the whole story, which includes his passion, death, and resurrection.”

Jesus’ disciples believed that he was the Messiah because he taught with authority and because of his healing acts. They did not understand until after his resurrection that the Messiah did not become incarnate to judge and destroy an oppressive political regime but to show us that we are never alone in our suffering and that death does not have the last word. To reveal that, he had to undergo suffering, death, and resurrection himself. As Jesus’ disciples looked back at his words and actions after his resurrection (with help on the road to Emmaus), his intentions, actions, and teaching became clear.

Unlike those who encountered Jesus in his human lifetime, we have the benefit of knowing the whole story. We know that God is with us when we suffer, and we know that we too will experience new life after the death of our earthly body. Furthermore, as Barbara Reid also points out, Jesus directs Mary Magdalene “to go to the gathered community of the brothers and sisters: it is there that he is to be found alive.” If we want to find Jesus, we need look no further than our sisters and brothers. Dorothy Day showed that she understood this when she said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”