St. Ignatius of Loyola is rightly considered one of the paramount authorities on the spiritual life and direction. His insights can be found in such practices as the Ignatian Daily Examen, the Spiritual Exercises, and his discernment process of consolation and desolation. Ignatian spirituality is also known for the imaginative form of prayer, which involves inserting ourselves into a scene of Jesus’s life by imagining ourselves to be a particular person or character in the scene or even as a bystander experiencing what is unfolding. So, for a moment, let’s imagine ourselves as residents of Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Tabernacles.
The feast of the Tabernacles was originally a joyful seven-day harvest festival with torch-lit processions to remember their God’s graciousness to them. So, there you are, enjoying the celebration with friends, when suddenly Jesus shows up and starts to teach the crowds that he is the Messiah. Imagine what he looks like. Is he tall and muscular or short and average-looking? Is his voice deep and rich or more indistinguishable from others in the crowd? Like the rest of the crowd, you might be a bit surprised to see Jesus out in public because you know that there are death threats against him for claiming that he is the Son of God. You become aware of the crowds murmuring as they wonder if perhaps the authorities have somehow changed their minds and now actually believe that Jesus is the Messiah but are denying it in public for some reason.
Then level-headedness gives way to the crowd starting to label and stereotype as they tell you, “Wait, he can’t be the Messiah. We know where Jesus comes from; we know that he was a boy who grew up in Nazareth; we know his mother and father. Therefore, he cannot be the Messiah. Don’t you agree,” they ask you. And you think to yourself, well, they do have a point. We have known him since he was a baby; as a carpenter in Nazareth, we know his mom and dad. Now, maybe I’m a little confused as well.
Jesus, hearing the chatter, then informs the crowd that they are blind and are oblivious that his actual origin is in God. That we will only be able to recognize and know Jesus when we finally realize that God has sent him. Then, the crowds around you start getting upset, angry, and agitated because Jesus is talking smack about their religion and sacred scripture, and they start making moves to arrest Jesus forcibly. You can feel yourself getting extremely anxious and nervous as the crowd’s anger turns them into a lynch mob – and there you are, right in the middle of the riot.
Then, one of the furious rioters grabs you by your shoulders and spins you around. Face to face, he asks you the most crucial question of your life: “So who do you say this Jesus is?” Your answer will affect the outcome of everything that happens to you for the rest of your life.
Visitor Reflections