Week 26 - Jesus is risen

Welcome to this Ignatian meditation. I begin by placing myself before God who is looking at me with love.

Theme:

The theme is ‘Jesus is Risen’. 

We have followed Jesus and stayed with Him while He was betrayed, denied and crucified.

But the story does not end there. Jesus took upon Himself the mission of showing us that God’s unconditional love for us is stronger than death. Christ is still present in the world as we try to follow His commandment to love one another.

What I desire:

That I may live my life in the peace which Jesus promised me.

That I am aware of the presence of Christ in the world.

Music: Frieden, Frieden. Taizé

Frieden, frieden
Hinterlasse ich euch
Maynen frieden gebe ich euch
Euer Herz verzage nicht

Peace, peace

I leave you

I give you peace

Do not let your hearts despair

Spotify Link:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3cm8hfSEW2SBugN4YI66kM?si=76a17ab92d2f4a0e

YouTube Link:

https://youtu.be/7R7eJUetKrQ?si=MBRTRQGq8Miy2uoF

John 20, 19-22

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 

The disciples have lost their friend, their teacher and their future after the death of Jesus. They are scared of the outside world and turn inwards, shutting themselves off. I look back on moments in my own life when I felt abandoned. What was that like for me?

*

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 

Then suddenly Jesus is there where nobody else can come. Jesus shows with his wounds of crucifixion that He knows human suffering and sorrow. Nothing more is needed. When I look back at the moments when I shut myself off from the world around me, do I recognize the experience that even in the deepest dark corner of my life I am not alone? Did that give me a feeling of peace? 

*

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. 

Jesus wishes his friends peace not once but twice. I imagine that Jesus wishes me peace. What could that peace mean for me in my life?

*

Jesus calls us just as His Father called him from his Spirit: not to do something but to be there for others, in joy and sadness, out of love. I look back on the last period of my life. Was I there for somebody? Was someone there for me?

*

Music: Frieden, Frieden. Taizé