All in costume

She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus (John 20:14).

Ahead of me going into the grocery store is a lady wearing a plaid skirt, a checked blouse, a cardigan full of holes, and bedroom slippers for shoes.

The person cutting my hair has tattoos up and down each arm and portrays an aura of being tough.

She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.

I'm walking along a street in a somewhat-deserted downtown. Out of nowhere, a young man approaches and asks me to help him out and purchase three squirt bottles of air freshener.

I bid farewell to a colleague once we get out of a restaurant at lunchtime and am accosted near my car by an obviously unfortunate person in a wheelchair.

She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.

I'm first at a stoplight, and in the median is a beggar on crutches supporting herself in a standing position because she has only one leg.

I talk with a well-dressed professional who cares more about getting a higher salary and driving a better car than he cares for anything else.

She turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.

Oh, I get it — it's Halloween. We're all in costume.

[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati.]