Jesus's Evening Prayer
An "Ignatian-style" re-envisioning of Jesus's end-of-the-day prayer.
I imagine Jesus and his friends, his disciples, entering the countryside near Nazareth after being away for weeks preaching. As they stride up to the village, Jesus embraces each of his friends and sends them off to visit family or friends. “We'll meet up in two days’ time,” he says. “Have a good rest.”
It is evening and the usual hubbub of village activity is beginning to subside. Heat rises from the ground as the sun makes it way toward the horizon. Jesus enters his street from the path leading down from the hills. He'd like to make this a quiet visit, one that he can enjoy with his family, and especially his mother. He doesn’t know when he will get another chance to visit. For a few days he would like to just be Jesus, himself, a son, a brother, a cousin, an uncle.
Because of the time of the day, most are inside eating the evening meal. The only one who notices his arrival is Salome, his mother's oldest friend. She lives in the last house on the street with her widowed daughter. He raises his hand in greeting and keeps going.
When he arrives in the courtyard outside the family home, he is immediately mobbed by his young cousins. Although he is only able to visit rarely these days, he is a favorite of theirs. The adults hearing the clamor look out from inside. Mary, his mother, hurries out to enfold him in her arms. They embrace quietly yet strongly. Mary, weeping a bit in joy, and Jesus whispering comfort into her ear.
After a few moments she pushes herself away and dries her tears. Others move up to greet him with back slapping, or brief embraces. They urge him to table to share the meal that's just about to begin.
It is a simple meal - bread, olives, some lentils with a bit of meat, and watered wine. Jesus is delighted with the fare. Here he is allowed to be just himself - a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin. Here he can relax and take a break, no need to speak about his work or himself. Instead, family members share their news and updates from the village.
After the meal, the children are shooed back into the courtyard to continue their play before bedtime. The men go out to care for the animals, and the women begin to clean up after the meal. Jesus stays with the women. He wants to spend as much time as possible with his mother. He helps with unsetting the table, smiling at the good-natured teasing of his female relatives. After a few minutes, his mother pushes him out of the kitchen so the women can complete their work.
He goes out to the courtyard to gather his young cousins and takes them up to the roof of the house. The sun is setting in the west as they gather sleeping mats and settle around for a story. Jesus is the best storyteller. He really makes the characters come alive.
“Which one will I tell?” he asks. “The story of young Joseph who goes on to become a powerful man in Egypt, confidant of Pharoah? The story of young David who became our people's most revered king? The story of young Moses, who became the faith's greatest prophet and led his enslaved people to freedom?”
They make their choice and settle in for the story. The adults drift in from their evening tasks and listen to the story from a distance. They too enjoy these old tales. At the story’s end, fathers and mothers gather up their little ones for bed. Jesus passes through them giving a quick embrace or shoulder squeeze as the families separate to go down to their rooms for the night. Soon he is left alone up on the roof. Night has fully fallen, and the stars are bright above him.
He faces west and prostrates himself to his Father, praying the Shema. After a few moments of quiet, he looks back over the day . . . everything that the day brought, moment by moment. Reliving the joys and sorrows, the frustrations and moments of pure humor, what felt blessed and successful, and what felt stubbornly blocked. He prays to his Father for forgiveness for times of lack of faith, or impatience, or anger, and asks for a good night’s rest. Completing his prayer, he takes his mat and goes down to the room his mother shares with her other widowed relative. They settle into sleep.
The Prayer I imagine Jesus makes to his Father . . .
Lord God, King of the Universe,
Creator and Sustainer of all things.
You who bring sleep to my eyes and give rest to my body.
Thank you for the challenges and the blessings of the day.
Help me to learn from the former and be truly grateful for the latter.
Give me your peace this night and bring me back to life in the morning,
refreshed and ready to do your will. AMEN (1)
(1) A prayer inspired by Jesus’s evening prayer in the series, The Chosen.
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