Friday April 28, 2023

Today is Friday, April 28 and we are studying the Post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus.

As I begin this time of prayer, I quiet my mind, slow my breathing and rest in the presence of the God who loves me.

Pause and Pray

Jesus, you are the Lord of my life and the Shepherd of my heart. I am here to listen to your voice and discover the specific message you have for me today. Open the scriptures and help me see what you wish to reveal. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s steadfast love and praise him with the ancient words of Psalm 147.

How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:1-3

Pause and Pray

Thomas had doubts and so do we. Some of us doubt the resurrection, the divinity of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit. We doubt we can be forgiven or that God is merciful. We doubt our bodies can be healed or our marriages saved. We doubt God’s power to work in our lives or in our relationships. We doubt God’s love for us and God’s presence with us. We doubt God can set us free from what binds us or change our circumstances. Whatever doubts you have; imagine like Thomas you are invited to touch and see the wounds of Christ.

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:26-29

I open my palm, I stretch out my wrist and look at it. I imagine the wound made by the large Roman nail piercing through flesh and bone. I put my finger there and touch the spot. I imagine reaching out my hand and putting it in Jesus’ side where the soldier’s spear pierced his torso (John 19:34). Jesus invites me to touch his wounds. I caused his wounds. It is my sin that drove the nails through his hands. I have my own wounds, they are scars on my soul. When I get in touch with the wounds of Jesus, he heals my woundedness. I live in a wounded world. When I touch the wounds of Jesus, I recognize the pain of those around me and see those who need a word of hope.

Ask: Where do I see pain and woundedness around me? How would Jesus want me to respond?

Pause and Pray

Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for being wounded out of love for me. Show me what it means to touch your wounds. Forgive me for the wounds I have caused others throughout my life. Heal the wounds of hurt and disappointment I have bottled up inside me. Remind me of the suffering of the world and the need for me to bring love. Show me where I can bind up the broken hearted and be a wounded healer. I read the words from John again and listen for the message you have for me.

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:26-29

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I hear Jesus say to me as he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” As I examine the wounds of Christ, I realize the world is a very wounded place. I touch the wounds of the world caused by the sin of a broken humanity. When I touch the wounds of Jesus, I am transformed by the Holy Spirit. I realize the enormous truth and necessity of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. By his wounds I am healed.

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, reveal the wounds that I cannot see. The wounds I have caused others, the wounds I harbor in my own soul, the wounds born on the hearts of the people I love, the wounds of a broken humanity crying for help. Give me the balm of Gilead that binds up and heals. Fill my heart with compassion for the suffering of others. Amen.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

I leave this time of prayer with the love of Christ, I go to comfort the wounds of a hurting world.

Amen