Jesus is risen!  This is the third post in a series exploring the visitations and teaching of the resurrected Christ.  Jesus sojourned with his disciples for 40 days before departing to be with the Father. The daily prayer will be considering passages from Padriag O’Tuama’s book, In the Shelter, to help guide this study

Stone Wave, Leslie Bartlett

Today’s Bible reading

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I send you.”  — John 20:19-21

More thoughts for meditation

I’m often guilty of thinking of the resurrection in theological rather than practical terms, reducing it to a spiritual proof that balances the Bible’s equation.  Jesus’s appearance to his disciples in the upper room offers a necessary perspective — a resurrection showing up in a room that smells of fear.

The disciples had reason to lock the doors.  Their teacher had just been put to death for fomenting rebellion and heresy; and temple guards were looking to disrupt the movement. The room was locked from the inside, each one living in their own disappointments and anxieties.  There was likely recrimination and self loathing for having abandoned their teacher. Faith shelters some and shadows others. It is into this space that Jesus appears saying, “Peace be with you.” Padraig O’Tuama relates that this phrase was a standard greeting across multiple languages of the time.  Jesus greets them as a friend, hello to you in this locked room. The door remains locked and the disciples’ circumstances do not seem to change. In the shadow of the upper room, the Lord offers a new insight into the kingdom. The shelter of restored relationships as God is making things right.  

Suggestions for action

Consider the rooms you enter this week.  Be mindful to enter those spaces in the spirit of Jesus.  Lead with peace rather than solutions, love rather than fixes.  It is enough to focus on relationship with the knowledge that God is making things right. 

Today is Corrie Ten Boom Day! Visit this Dutch holocaust survivor and evangelist at Celebrating Our Transhistorical Body.