Updated on April 22, 2024
Imaginative Contemplation – Mary Meets Jesus at the Tomb – John 20
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A guided meditation with John 20:11-18, using imaginative contemplation. 23 minutes.
This is the re-release of a meditation first published in 2022.
This passage has meant so much to me and helped me, in a crisis of faith, to see that what feels like The End may in fact be a beginning, an invitation to something much bigger.
Here are some thoughts I shared in 2022:
“In today’s meditation, based on John 20:11-18, Mary isn’t ready to see that she is in transition. She still clings with all she’s worth … to Jesus of Nazareth as she’s known him and loved him.
Jesus, however, is ushering her in to a different, but deeper relationship with both himself and the Father. She’s now being offered the same intimacy and access to the Father that Jesus has had himself. “I’m going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” To step into this, she must let go of Jesus as she’s known him.
As you travel to this moment in your imagination, may you encounter the risen Jesus, and may this speak to whatever transition, or liminal space, you find yourself in just now.”
Every blessing.
For further meditations on encounters with the risen Christ from John’s Gospel, check out these links:
Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, speaking “Peace” and breathing the Holy Spirit into them. (18 minutes – John 20:19-23)
Thomas, who needs to see to believe. (18 minutes – John 20:24-29)
Breakfast on the Beach (21 minutes – John 21:1-14)
Do You Love Me? (20 minutes – John 21:15-22)
Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.
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All music by Pete Hatch.
Grief met with light, panic met with voice, loneliness met with touch. I thank you Jesus that your resurrection isn’t just in the past but meets us today.