Heard Into Healing

Easter Monday

Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Mt 28:8-15

For those of you who may not know, Easter Monday was celebrated for quite some time in Catholic circles.  While it seems to be more of a northern European practice (and brought here with immigrants/settlers/colonizers), it became part of the broader faith tradition.  And because I am kind of an old school Catholic, you get one more blog post related to Easter…

Our readings today fast forward us to a later scene where Peter and the disciples have now “gone public” and feel a new sense of power to tell the story through their own experience.  Remember, the powers that be tried to name Jesus as a criminal or blasphemer.  But Peter is offering a whole different narrative of what happened and who Jesus was.  Meanwhile, in the gospel, Jesus meets the disciples “on their way” and the forces of empire are paying people hush money to try to keep suppressing the story.

Two things I’ll say about today.

It is such a small phrase, but I just love the words “on their way.”  I really appreciate the ordinariness of this image.  Jesus meets us on the way of life.  Maybe we’re on the way to work.  Or the bank. Or to pick up children. Or in the grocery store. Or outdoors.  Wherever we are, God will somehow meet us there.  The question seems to be in our recognition, not in his presence. This is, perhaps, one of the greatest Easter challenges that the disciples face.  They do not recognize Jesus when he is in their midst because they weren’t expecting him.  This is a huge lesson for us to remember as an Easter people – that Jesus will meet us on the way and in a form that we do not expect.

And the second thing I take away from today is related to the disciples in the public square.  It was important for Peter and the disciples to tell their story on their own terms and in their own way.  

I recently came across a quote by writer and blogger Cheryl Richardson which I really love: “People start to heal the moment they feel heard.”

Think about your own life when someone really “hears” you.  I don’t know about you, but something in me relaxes and eases.  I feel visible and like I matter. And these feelings create favorable conditions for healing.

The disciples needed healing after what they had been through, and once they started to be “heard” and believed, their power returned.

I think we live in a similar era.

From what I can see, more and more groups of people are trying tell their stories on their own terms because they have been repressed and suppressed by the forces of empire for so long. People long to be heard so that they can heal. And we need to hear them so that we all can heal.

These are stories from indigenous communities.  These are stories from BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) communities.  These are stories from LGBTQIA+ communities.  These are stories from Crip/DIsabled communities. These are stories from people living in poverty. And these are our stories.

The stories that have been marginalized, repressed and suppressed all need to be told and heard – whether in our personal lives or our collective life – because when these are heard, healing can take root in a new way. And when I say “heard” I don’t just mean listened to.  I mean acted upon in meaningful ways that show people that they have been heard.

That means land gets returned.

That means that people get equal treatment and respect.

That means not policing people’s bodies and lives.

That means creating contexts where people can thrive.

And so as we move more deeply into the mystery and power of Easter-time, maybe we could all reflect on these questions:

What in you is longing to be heard? What story needs to be told and needs to be heard so that you can heal?  

What story is longing to be heard (and acted upon) in your life so that someone else might heal?

What does our earth need us to hear so that we might all be healed?

Just take some quiet time today to listen to what surfaces after you read these questions.