Walking through Walls

‘When the disciples were together, with doors blocked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said: “Peace be with you…” The disciples were overjoyed…’ (Jn. 20: 19, 20).

Does an incisive look at our interior bolted doors (therapeutic code word: defense mechanisms) make us self-absorbed, unable to see beyond our own walls? Not when the Risen Jesus walks through them! When Jesus shows up, sometimes with skilled help and always with the Spirit’s witness, we experience the disciples’ joy and peace. Fear, shame, and isolation tumble out like dogs from a crowded kennel; we see our walls as flimsy self-protections that bar us from holy love.

His Risen Presence envelopes us. We bond with Him in brokenness and profound need: therein lies His power to restore us.

Face it—when we are hurt badly, whether as children or adult children—we wall off. More mindful of the gash than God, we forfeit grace. Or our quiet sins—one day I was troubled by an unusually strong bout of sexual temptations and I immediately began to analyze contributing factors. Through it all I heard Jesus say: ‘Offer to me your clutter and just let me love you!’ Boom. The atmosphere shifts when Jesus walks through our walls.

One night I had a dream of driving fast through an annoyingly small, slow town. I saw out of the corner of my eye a wounded child lying on the sidewalk. I was mad: ‘Darn it, now I’m responsible to care for the poor kid.’ I begrudgingly stopped and picked him up in my arms, Jesus showed up behind me and encircled both of us in a healing embrace. Draw whatever meaning you want. For me it was just a reminder: My pace walls Him off yet His love breaks through anyway.

If this old Jesus dude is still getting saved, how can I not seek to save lost souls? I want to be a wall-walker in the Spirit of Risen Jesus! My neighbor confided in me angrily that his sister-in-law was tyrannizing the family through alcoholism. I began to pray and connect with him constantly on her progress/regress. She is sober now, and he attributes that to merciful Jesus. A lapsed Catholic friend is ‘gay-identified’ and grateful that he isn’t broken like me. Fun. Yesterday I reminded him that Easter was the longest Church season because more than anything Jesus wants to woo us into total identification with Himself.

People’s walls change over time. Timeless Jesus, ever incisive and personal, knows His way in. Remember how He got through to you? Follow and reveal Him to locked up hearts. You may be the nearest Risen Jesus they know.