I went to high school at the La Salle Institute in the city of Chihuahua, in Mexico. Lasallian schools are Catholic, which, among other things, instill human and Christian values.
One of the main activities of this school, is that during Holy Week they organized missions to indigenous peoples in the rural areas of the Sierra Tarahumara. Those 3 weeks that I spent during high school are some of the most treasured at this stage of my life.
Another of the activities of the La Salle Institute was that they offered us spiritual retreats by grade. They sent the entire class of ’94 to a retreat house for a day.
In one of those retreats, the first reflection was being given by Professor Méndez, who at that time was my calculus teacher. The whole group was in a room, I think we were sitting on the floor (I remember how cold it was). He was trying to capture our attention, but it took some patience. And he had it.
When his voice could more or less be heard despite the murmurs, he pointed to a chair that was next to him, and told us:
—Imagine that Jesus is here.
—(Mutters and laughter)
— (He observed the group serenely)
—(Muttering continues)
—(Long pause)
—(Muttering continues)
—Imagine that you get home, enter your room, and that Jesus is there waiting for you.
—(Silence, surprised expressions, and confused faces)
No matter how simple he may have been at the time, Profe Méndez (as we called him) achieved something in us that is still very significant to me.
What Profe Méndez achieved was to “bring” Jesus to our reality.
Of the times that I paid attention to the homilies during Holy Week before going to the missions, it was much of the same. The priest said: “imagine everything that Jesus went through for us.” It is valid, and it is true. But for my teenage mind, it was distant, and I couldn’t identify with the experience. I identified with not wanting to see him suffer, but I had never before been offered the scenario that Jesus could be with me in my reality.
There is a great treasure in meditating on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
And you, have you had the experience of inviting Jesus into your reality?
Jesus shares with you his experience of pain, death, and resurrection. What is it like for you to share what is painful to you, what feels like death? Do you think there is resurrection for you?
I’m not just referring to a literal experience in which your physical well-being is at risk. I’m also referring to the rest of your life experiences.
Jesus the Carpenter shares His experiences with you. Do you feel called to share your experiences with Him?
By inviting him into our reality, by prayerfully observing his experiences, we can learn so much. We can learn from his love, from his actions, from his words, from his way of relating, from his silence, from how he did what he did…
Jesus learned the art of working with wood in the workshop of Nazareth. What can we learn from Jesus in the workshop of our interior?
Also in my adolescence, I remember that bracelets with the initials “WWJD?” were fashionable, representing the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” Perhaps a follow-up question could be, what can I learn from Jesus in the workshop of my interior?
It is very likely that how Jesus learned as a carpenter was by trial and error. I also imagine that Saint Joseph must have been patient enough with Jesus until Jesus learned to do things by himself.
Learning is not always instantaneous. It may take us time. Learning to die in what we need to die, and discovering the resurrection when it has been presented, asks intention and attention from us. Because it is an art.
Mary Magdalene and the disciples found evidence that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Still, something more was necessary for them to recognize his resurrection.
Do you discover the signs of resurrection in your life?
A week after leaving the hospital after having surgery, I went for a walk with one of my daughters. There was such a simple situation that made me laugh so hard for a while. Then my daughter told me that she didn’t remember when I had laughed so much. Ouch, it hurt. But the other side of the comment gave me so much light. It turns out that everything seems to point that I had chronic depression due to the brain tumor that was removed.
I started paying attention, and I discovered a different sensation in the way I saw simple things. I started to enjoy small details much more than before. And little by little, as weeks, months and years continue to pass, I experience my life in a different way. That part of my being is experiencing gradual resurrection.
What are some expressions of gradual resurrection in your life? If you can’t perceive them, you can ask Jesus the carpenter. He will show you..
Death is not the end. Maybe it is “an end,” to make room for the resurrection.
In your personal prayer, whether you meet Jesus in your room (or in your kitchen over coffee or wine), he can show you the way to the resurrection. In your reality.
Jesus’ journey from death to resurrection took a couple of nights, in our time reference. For me, it is still taking me time to discover the different expressions of resurrection in my life. As you continue to discover the different expressions of resurrection in your life, rejoice, celebrate, enjoy, share.
Marisol
P.S. We can listen to the account when the women and the disciples were looking for Jesus in the readings for Easter Sunday, year/cycle B.
