Walking through Walls
Author: Andrew Comiskey
May 03, 2021
‘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.
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