Meditation: Peace for the Locked Room

Texts:  Acts 2:14a, 22-32 and John 20:19-31

Take a slow breath.

Let your body settle.

Let yourself arrive here, just as you are.

You do not need to have Easter figured out.

You do not need to force certainty.

You do not need to push away what is real.

Just be here.

Just breathe.

In the Gospel, the disciples are gathered behind locked doors.

They are afraid.

They are guarded.

They are shut in.

And maybe you know something about that.

Maybe there is a place in you that feels closed.

A place that feels guarded.

A place where fear has taken over.

So gently ask yourself:

What fear is locking my door right now?

What is making me contract, hide, or hold back?

Do not judge what rises.

Just notice it.

Now hear these words:

Peace be with you.

Not as a greeting.

As a gift.

Let those words rest in you.

Christ comes into the room their fear has built.

He does not shame them.

He meets them there.

And he shows them his wounds.

Not erased.

Not denied.

Not hidden.

So perhaps you do not need to hide your wounds either.

The places where life has hurt you,

disappointed you,

or worn you down

are real.

But they don’t define you.

And now hear this:

Jesus breathes on them and says,

Receive the Holy Spirit.

Focus on your breathing.

Let each breath remind you:

The breath of Life is already here.

Rest for a moment in this truth:

The opposite of faith is not doubt.

It is fear.

And Christ comes even there.

And says:  Peace be with you.

Now, in the quiet of your heart, pray:

Holy One,

you know the rooms I keep locked.

You know the fears I carry,

the wounds I hide,

and the places where I have closed myself off.

Meet me here.

Breathe your peace into me.

Where I am guarded, soften me.

Where I am afraid, steady me.

Where I am wounded, hold me.

Where I am closed, open me to life.

Teach me to trust your presence.

Teach me to live from Love.

Teach me to receive and embody the gift of peace.

Amen.