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As we near the end of the Easter Octave ready to continue the fifty days of Easter until Pentecost (24 May) I’ve been pondering God’s method and wondering if God could have been more successful in bringing every person to faith.

So here are a few of the questions I have for God.

If Jesus Christ (God-with-us) was to spend only 33 years on earth, couldn’t God have arranged for Jesus to make better use of his time, perhaps not waiting until age 30 before he began what was to be only a three year public ministry?

And if the public earthly ministry of Jesus was to be only three years surely this time could have been more active. The Gospels record fewer than fifty direct encounters with Jesus, that’s only one work-engagement every three weeks, and some of these moments probably lasted less than half an hour.

Any modern employer would consider this to be unsatisfactory output from an employee.

Certainly there would have been many group or individual encounters for Jesus each day but it’s reasonable to assume (since these weren’t recorded in the Gospels) that there wasn’t much there (in terms of teaching or miracles) to be worth noting.

And where a single encounter with the mercy of God through Jesus brought life-transformation for people, wouldn’t it have made sense for the all-powerful God to heal all the sick of a town, to personally forgive all the sinners, and wow, imagine if he had not stopped at resuscitating Lazarus and released all people from their graves. Now that would have been effective evangelisation resulting in thousands of delighted and enthusiastic converts.

At the Last Supper Jesus managed to gather only a dozen followers, a rather unreliable group including the denier, the betrayer, three who fell asleep when Jesus most needed them, and the others who went into hiding as he was crucified,

And wouldn’t you think that God’s plan for Jesus might have led to something more attractive than execution as a criminal.

How odd of God.

In fact if Jesus had presented the Gospels as his CV applying for a job in a 2026 Catholic diocese, well, there is little chance his application would be taken seriously, even after word of his resurrection spread.

So it’s probably no surprise that today’s Gospel reading summarising the hours and days after the resurrection of Jesus is full of doubt.

Here’s the full passage:

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Why was Jesus not more effective?

There can only be one explanation.

It must be that Jesus needs our honest struggle with belief, our refusal even, our incredulity and obstinacy and my problem is that I slip into thinking that I have to make my life ready for Jesus and worthy of Jesus before Jesus will really be satisfied.

Nothing could be further from the truth, and the Gospel truth is our evidence.

Encounter with Jesus is not the reward for belief but the start of belief.

Many of your emails accompanying the initials of your loved ones for our prayer have told of every kind of human struggle, weakness, sin, vulnerability, every kind of need including every degree of obstinacy and stubbornness.

And when I’m at my best I’m accepting that every kind of struggle, weakness, sin, vulnerability and compulsion in myself is my capacity for Jesus.

When I feel these unwelcome and unpleasant feelings, and take the step to call on Jesus, I am never disappointed.

Don’t believe me — instead try it, Call on God — and then it’s God you will be believing.

Take these days – the Easter Octave,
as an opportunity to experience
the risen Jesus with you
in every hour.

Set five minutes
twice a day
each day of this Easter Octave.
Diary these appointments with Jesus
and make these encounters
your priority this Easter Week.

and we continue to pray
especially for all those
who initials are listed below.

Tap the image below to enlarge and send initials of those we pray for to john@fff.org.nz