SCRIPTURE Peace be with you. John 20:19
THOUGHT The blinds are drawn. The doors are locked. The mood is fearful. Despite all attempts to keep recent, horrifying events at bay, the mourners are intruded upon. From out of nowhere, a voice speaks. They freeze, startled, confused because the door is shut tight. But the voice is familiar, and the words comforting.
-Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Time:
Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year
It has been called “the resurrection blessing,” because it is a resurrected Jesus who has entered the locked room by a way only he knows. Like any good priest or pastor, he enters with a blessing. Peace be with you.
Post resurrection, we are the upper room where the Resurrected One makes his home, and he is still in the business of drifting past the locks, walls, barricades and other obstacles with which we guard our hearts. These protective measures keep us from the full, whole, trusting relationship he pursues. We are afraid so often, and of so much. We batten the hatches and hunker down for the storm, but he enters by a way we don’t know and speaks peace in the midst of hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and tornados of the heart. What a blessing to trust and accept the peace he brings. To hold on to the sound of his voice and the peace of his live-giving, death-defying presence; to find rest in the midst of the storm.
PRAYER Perfect High Priest Jesus, we once begged you to enter, and then restricted your wanderings. Pass through our locked doors and speak your resurrection blessing to our hearts again. To be at peace with you is the protection we need most.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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