Rachel Wheeler teaches at the University of Portland. She is the author of the books, Desert Daughters, Desert Sons: Rethinking the Christian Desert Tradition (Liturgical Press, 2020) and Ecospirituality: An Introduction (Fortress Press, 2022). She is a member of Saint Andrew Catholic Church, a vegan, and enjoys knitting.

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”…

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’”

Where do I most see myself in this story, today? What is most striking to me about the people in this story? How do I see Love in this story?

What do you notice about the way Jesus interacted with people of different cultures? How has your experience of another culture taught you more about God’s love? How could you make yourself more available to relationships with people from different cultures? What does it mean to truly welcome a stranger? What is required of us to welcome strangers?

What sustains your spirit through hard times? What (or who) helps you listen for the Inward Christ to guide your work?  How do you find the time to practice listening with the inner ear, seeing with the inner eye that is central to seeing beneath the surface of the chaos around you?

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’