He is risen! He is you! Alleluia!

I believe I encountered such a risen Christ this past weekend. No, it was not an appearance like on the road to Emmaus or by the seashore; perhaps more like when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene disguised as the gardener. Two instances come to mind.

The first was during our Easter Vigil Liturgy here at the Woods which began with the blessing of fire outdoors in front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. In previous years, the fire died out in the course of the two-hour long service. As people left the church they walked past a heap of ashes.

This year, as the assembly left the Church, the fire burned bright, reminding all as we exited that we are to carry the light of Christ into the lives of others. Christ that night was disguised as Alex, our grounds supervisor, who stayed to guard and feed the flames during all two hours of the vigil service.

The second instance was Easter Sunday. We were served our festive dinner on “real” plates, with “real” utensils. So, what’s the big deal, you may say? Well, for three days prior, the dishwasher at Providence Hall had been on the blink and we were using paper and plastic for all meals.

This decision of food services to use “real” dishes meant that the dishes, glasses and silverware all had to be packed up and trucked over to the dishwasher in Owens Hall. Not only the dishes and silverware used by the 100-plus diners at Providence Hall, but also that for all the meals served to our residents in health care, another 100-plus — dishes, glasses, silverware, trays, temperature control covers, etc. Food service staff members were still going strong at 4:30 p.m. when I happened upon them in Owens Hall. Easter Sunday afternoon in the dish room at Owens Hall the risen Christ was disguised as Cindy, Kenny and Candace.

Have you encountered the Risen One lately? Under what disguise?