BREAKING THROUGH DEPRESSION WITH LOVE
“Peace be with you.” - Luke 24:36
Mary Todd Lincoln suffered great loss and agony sitting next to her husband, President Abraham Lincoln during his assassination at Ford’s Theatre. Before the president’s death, she had already lost two other sons to tuberculosis and typhoid. The pain was so overwhelming that she spent most of her life in a deep depression. The trauma of losing three people in her immediate family exacerbated problems she already had with mental illness.
Pain, death, depression, and loss contain a lot of power. They can cause confusion and blind us from experiencing hope or comfort. We cannot underestimate the emotional turbulence the disciples went through during the passion. During the active years of Jesus’ ministry, they grew to know, love, and follow the Lord. By doing so, they placed their hopes and dreams in believing his preaching and teaching. While we may now draw theological and spiritual nourishment from Good Friday, we have the gift of hindsight to celebrate that act of sacrificial love. For the disciples, they most likely entered a period of psychological darkness that shrouded their vision and placed them into moments of despair.
The Lord’s Resurrection and subsequent appearances at Emmaus and in today’s gospel in the locked room remind us that the Lord understood their woes and disappointments. He stands in their midst not to condemn their disbelief or doubt, but to greet them with peace. His greeting further reminds us that what is happening and what will follow significantly changes humanity for eternity. Life’s pains and turbulences may still plague the earth, but they no longer have the stinging permanence of power. On the contrary, the Lord points us to scripture, to moments of grace, to memories of consolation, and to encounters with Him providing numerous opportunities for us to remember that new life is here. We are redeemed, saved, and justified all through service, sacrifice, death, and love. Seeing him provides us relief that death and destruction do not have the final word. By seeing wounds resurrected, we are charged to tell the world to wake up, for the love of God has broken through depression and despair, calling us to new life.
How have you prayed through your own personal trauma and hurts? What are those wounds that need healing? How is God inviting you to turn those wounds over to him? What grace do you need to trust in the Lord’s healing power?
Alex Llanera, SJ