"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"
John 20:19
Yesterday, during a lovely silent time, I thought about what the Risen Christ shows and teaches us, here in our time. With some help from a wonderful homily and Fr. James Martin's chapter "Risen" in Jesus: A Pilgrimage, I came up with some thoughts to share. First, the Risen Christ meets us right where we are on our journeys, with exactly what we need to recognize and believe in him. Sometimes, he calls us by name, like he did Mary Magdalene when she thought he was the gardener (John 20:16). Or, like in yesterday's Gospel, Jesus is patient with us as we question and doubt, like Thomas who needed to see Jesus' wounds to believe (John 20:24-29). Jesus also gives us opportunities to repent, like he did with Peter on the beach. For each of Peter's three denials, Jesus asks him, "Do you love me?" (John 21:15-19) As we learned earlier last week, Jesus opens the scriptures for us and reveals himself to us in the "breaking of the bread," just as he did for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). And finally, Jesus comes to offer us peace. As we quiver in fear behind locked doors of our own making, Jesus offers us true peace--his peace. (Luke 24:36-43). Easter didn't just happen two thousand years ago, Easter happens for us every time we see and recognize Jesus in our everyday lives. Let's keep our eyes open today! Love, heidi
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