When Jesus walks through Walls: A Prayer Practice

What follows is a prayer practice of Ignatian Imaginative Contemplation, the goal of which is encountering the mystery of Jesus by walking into a story of the gospel with our senses fully awake. It’s visual prayer and an invitation to Presence, encountering the living Christ. Step with me into the story of the disciples in post-crucifixion, huddled and fearful. Watch what happens when Jesus walks through their locked door.

Holy Spirit we welcome you. We invite you to control our imaginations, to heighten our senses and lead us to Jesus. Amen

I want you to imagine you are one of the disciples. The last time you saw Jesus, he was either being arrested in the night by a band of weapon-carrying soldiers or perhaps you were at the foot of the cross watching your Rabbi die. You wonder if the authorities are going to come after you next. Now you’re in a small locked room with the other disciples. Thick stone walls make the room feel cool. You can feel the coolness of the stone floor against your sandals. Curtains are either tacked up or drawn. A large wooden bar has been pulled over the door. Shadows from a few oil lamps send shadows up the walls and ceilings. Even whispers feel too loud. You look around the room and see your fears mirrored back to you in the faces and huddled forms of the other disciples.

I want you to allow one of your present-day fears to rise to the surface. Sit with it for a moment.

You hear the muffled musings of the disciples around you, each one carrying on their own conversation. It’s possible this was the same room you were in just a few days ago for the Passover, Jesus’ last supper. How strange that feels. You brush away the crumbs of the bread from a makeshift dinner an hour ago. Absentmindedly, you lick your finger and bring a last crumb to your tongue. One disciple lays his arms and then his head on the large wooden table in front of him. Once again, you let your fear rise. Like it or not, it’s the air you breathe.

All of a sudden Jesus appears in the room. People gasp. Chairs scrape across the floor.

How does it feel to see Jesus?

What does He look like?

Jesus speaks, “Peace be with you.”

How does it feel to hear those words? “Peace be with you.”

What does Jesus posture look like as he says it?

How does your posture shift?

Now Jesus looks at you and it’s as though only you and he are in the room.  You lock eyes and he comes over to you and shows you his wounds, holding out his hands.

You take his hands in yours. You look at these hands you’ve known for three years. You trace his wounds with your fingers.

Why is he showing you his wounds?

What would you like to tell him?

Now He looks into your eyes and says, “Peace be with you.”

What does his voice sound like?

What happens in your body as Jesus says those words?

How has the fear shifted?

What would you like to tell him?

He speaks again looking into your eyes:

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Then he steps back and speaks the same words to every person in the room:

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Allow your curiosity to rise. What are you wondering?

How does it feel to receive this commissioning?

Then Jesus looks at each person and breathes on them:

Hold your arms out palms up in a receptive posture. 

Jesus speaks: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Allow yourself to sit and be still with the knowledge of Christ’s filling your body with the third person of the Trinity with his breath.

Receive this gift.

How does your posture change?  What shifts within you? How would you like to give the Holy Spirit access to you?

How would you like to respond to Jesus after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit?

Lord, seal this work you’ve done in every person’s heart. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What a privilege to pray with you today. Feel free to come back to this exercise. To listen and pray with Jesus as often as you desire and to watch how your fear shifts in the Presence of Jesus.