Monday: The Return to Bethany

John 12:1 – “Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany…”

Sacred Invitation

Begin here—at the edge of everything.

He has walked back into the place of love.
Back to the table.
Back to the ones who witnessed resurrection
and still carry its scent on their clothes.

Bethany is not Jerusalem.
It is not spectacle.
It is the quiet place—the place of friendship and preparation.
Let yourself come back.

Let this be your Bethany.
A returning that doesn’t need to prove anything.
A place to breathe before the road turns.

Daily Reflection

Jesus returns not first to the crowds, but to the ones who knew him best.

There is something holy about this choice—
to begin Holy Week not with a sermon, but with a meal.
Not with declarations, but with presence.

This is the day we return to the spaces that ground us—
the places, the people, the inner postures
that make it safe to be fully seen.

Before the shouting, before the cross,
Jesus steps into stillness.
So must we.

Somatic Practice

Take a few minutes to settle into your space.
Sit or stand, and slowly draw your shoulders back—just enough to open your chest.
Let your hands rest, palms open, as if receiving something unspoken.

Breathe in and say silently:
“Let me return to what holds me.”
Breathe out:
“I am safe to arrive again.”

Let this be your posture of Bethany—
soft, unhurried, grounded in presence.

Evening Prayer

God of quiet rooms and returning roads,
bring me back to what steadies me.
Let me be known here.
Let me rest before the journey continues.

Amen.