Famous last words: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Followed by, “Bye…!”
Reminds me of a Carolyn Arends song, “Life is Long,” that begins:
I'm gonna love you for forever, that's what he used to say
Then you found out that forever ended last Tuesday…
The difference is that Jesus meant it – and he had the resources to back it up. Having just told his disciples to go out and spread the Good News to the whole world, Jesus wasn’t about to leave them alone in that task. Nor has he left us alone. But sometimes it can be hard to feel his presence. Here are a few ways I know of to draw on that promise of forever, one moment at a time:
Prayer – when we allow our minds to quiet and invite the Spirit to fill us, it is the Spirit of Christ who comes to us. The visually inclined can ask Jesus to show up in our imagination in some place and form that resonates for us, where we can talk and listen to him - and just hang out.
Praise – when we release our spirits in praise, while singing or admiring beauty or enjoying an intimate meal, we often feel a presence in us and around us…. That is Christ, joining our praises.
Eucharist – we say those words and embody those actions in order to remember Him, because he said to… and remember means more than "recall." It also means to reconstitute the members of a body. We receive the life of Christ in those signs of his body and blood – and He has promised to be there with us.
In the Hungry and Forgotten – Jesus said when we feed and clothe and visit and tend to those in need, we do it for him. Doing ministry among people with obvious needs – and many assets, don’t forget – is a wonderful way to be with Jesus. Ask him in advance to show himself to you.
Ministries of Power – Jesus told his followers that when the Spirit came, they would do even greater works than they’d seen him do. When we pray for healing or reconciliation or exercise spiritual power in Jesus’ name, we are invoking his presence in us.
What are the ways you sense the presence of Jesus?
Are there times you feel abandoned by him anyway? I do! Those are normal, especially when a lot of things are going wrong. God invites us to pray through them and pipe up and say, “What happened to, ‘I will be with you always?’ Not feeling it…”
Always is a long time. Moment by moment, we can experience Christ with us, and expand our capacity.
I’ll close with some of my own lyrics, from a song I wrote a few years ago for Eastertide, called “Was That You?” It explores the garden and Emmaus and the fish. The last verse brings the question to us:
So where did you last see him, where he wasn’t supposed to be?
He told us he’d be with the poor, the lost, the last, the least …
He said that we would know him in Word and bread and wine;
He promised to be with us, now – and to the end of time.
Is that you breathing peace to me when it's storming in my head?
Is that you releasing power in me, the power that raised the dead?
Is that you, loving me more than I could ever understand?
Don’t know why it always takes a while for me to open up my eyes and see:
That it’s you, always next to me, Jesus, you, right here, next to me.
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