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You acted out of ignorance…
In addition to service, Ignatians West volunteers read a book or two together each year. The themes of the books include contemporary theology, social justice and Ignatian spirituality. We have been challenged, angered, moved to action, inspired and mystified depending on the reading. At our monthly meetings volunteers share their thoughts on the books and what has stirred within them from the reading.
This year we did something different. We explored the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. Initially, the plan was to have each volunteer move at their own pace but the book we used, which was divided into nine months, called for more intentional guidance and interaction so we moved to meeting weekly via Zoom which gave anyone who attended the opportunity to share the graces of their journey as well as any difficulties they were experiencing.
Midway through the year we altered our plan again and focused on one month at a time. It gave more structure to our spiritual journey.
During the four “weeks” of the spiritual exercises we explored how God loves each of us, how we accept that love and how we turn away from it at times. We immersed ourselves in the public life of Jesus through to his death and finally resurrection. We are coming to the end of our journey together with the spiritual exercises and will now discern what comes next given what each of us learned.
The large group exploration of the spiritual exercises was an experiment. We learned and altered our path as we moved through the prayers, scripture, art, music, and poetry offered in the book. There was agreement that it was not an easy journey but we kept going and in the end came to realize that our experience was an introduction to the spiritual exercises and opened the door to going deeper in the future.
Sometimes we act out of ignorance. We think we know how to do something, who to follow or what to pursue, only to realize at some point that change needs to happen. We heard this in today’s first reading. Peter tells all who will listen that they and their leaders acted out of ignorance. They made a grave error calling for the death of Jesus. He calls on them to repent and be converted. Peter understands human nature and how we stumble along making mistakes, some small and others huge causing life to change in ways unimagined. He also offers the mercy and forgiveness of God. I hear him telling them that while what they did was wrong God is merciful and will forgive them.
Jesus was not seen for who he was by many until after his death. Human beings are stubborn. We often hold to our initial view of someone or something unwilling to think about what might happen if we changed course.
Despite how often we hear or read scripture passages there is always something revealed to us that offers God’s wisdom. The message I heard today is that we have the freedom to start over, begin again, and change course at every stage of life. There is no shame in admitting we might have taken a path that did not lead to where we want to go and pursuing another. God’s goodness, patience, and love give us immense freedom.
Peace,
Anne
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