From closed in to opened out

Last week I wrote that the Sunday post-Resurrection Gospels had moved on, from the previous week's closed room to Sunday's outdoor scene. And as I wrote those words it occurred to me that it wasn't only the environment which had moved on, becoming more open and spacious. The disciples too had progressed from shutting themselves in behind locked doors, to moving about in wide open spaces and the vastness and depths of the sea.

And isn't that the journey we all need to make? From being closed-in to being open; from fear and defensiveness to boldness and inner freedom; from self-preservation to a love which is selfless, generous and unstinting. And like Thomas we are invited to make this journey through the entry point of woundedness and vulnerability: a mysterious, indescribable journey of pain and joy, hope and growth, in which our own wounds and those we carry for others somehow find a welcoming home and a shelter in the wounded, wide-open Heart of Jesus. In this process we too discover that when we truly contemplate the open Heart of Jesus all that is clenched-up within us will be opened... including our attitudes and regard for our own wounds and vulnerability, and the wounds of others and of the wider world.

A lifelong journey which takes us into Love's depths, and leads us into healing, compassion and greater, stronger and more tender loving...