Gospel of John 20:19-31
Lots of people I know are struggling right now. One more drop, one more to-do, one more surprise, one more disappointment will force their bucket to tip over. The contents will spill out into a huge heap of indecipherable refuse at their feet. In other words, many folks are not experiencing internal peace at the moment.
In the gospel reading, Jesus is clear. He is the source, the spring of such internal peace. However, because we are the Body of Christ, we have a responsibility to our fellow humans to somehow participate in helping them find internal peace. That is the only way we too can personally discover the fountain of inner peace within our own souls.
There are a few things we all know we can do. Firstly, let us do no harm… let us hold our tongue when what we were going to say is not uplifting… let us walk towards, not away from someone in distress… let us not complain or whine when someone else isn’t doing their part of a project. Secondly, we can pay attention and help someone in need when spontaneous opportunities spring forth.
Thirdly, let’s go out of our way to connect and stay connected to the people already in our lives. I ask myself, “If I find out later that this person was struggling right now, will I feel sad that I didn’t make more of an effort to connect in this moment.” Perhaps we should assume everyone we know is having a hard time and go from there. Cards, email, text, phone calls. Something. Anything. I figure I should do everything that occurs to me. The ideas are probably not mine, but the Holy Spirit’s.
While a phone call or a card may not seem big enough to change someone’s world, it is because the Lord is already working within that individual’s life. Think of each person you know as a painting, and the Lord has given you one color with which to add to each painting He has put in your life. You don’t have to paint the entirity of each picture, only pay attention to each, and fill in here and there with your brush as the Spirit moves you.
Journal or Write:
- If there was a scale in which ‘struggling to survive each day’ scored a one and ‘experiencing consistent internal peace’ scored a ten, what number would you give yourself right now? Why?
- Sometimes we try too hard to identify our unique gifts and talents and yet those in our lives make it clear they like being with us. What do people tell you they like about your company? What do they miss about you when they’ve not been around you?
- If you actually ask friends and family why they like being with you, explore in writing any surprises. If not, recall what people have said in the past.
- How would you characterize the color and style of the color medium that you’ve been given to add to the Paintings (peeps) the Lord has placed into your life? Would you describe your contributions as watercolor/acrylic/oil, thin/thick, gloppy/watery, light/heavy, etc?
Writing to Pray 