Context: Thirty years ago, Dave Andrews, a Christian community worker living in an inner Brisbane suburb, wrote a book entitled, Can You Hear the Heartbeat?  It described how Jesus related to those who lived on the edge of society, the abused, the outcast, those considered to be unclean and unaccepted in their communities and encouraged readers to meet people where they were at in life. The essence of being a follower of Jesus is to live in sympathy with God, feeling the throb of God’s heartbeat. Even in the midst of a pressing schedule Jesus would take time out to go into the mountains to pray- like a son laying his head on his father’s heart to hear his heartbeat. The last supper account in John’s gospel gives us a wonderful mystical image. The evangelist describes the beloved disciple as reclining on the breast of Jesus. What’s contained in this image?  A number of things: First, when you put your head upon someone else’s chest, your ear is just above that person’s heart and you are able to hear his or her heartbeat. Hence, in John’s image, we see the beloved disciple with his ear on Jesus’ heart, hearing Jesus’ heartbeat, and from that perspective looking out into the world. This is John’s ultimate image for discipleship: The ideal disciple is the one who is attuned to Christ’s heartbeat and sees the world with that sound in his or her ear. (Ron Rollheiser OMI, 2006)...

Spanish translation using DeepL Translator. Traducción al español con DeepL Translator

Sandra Lupi is a Sister of Mercy from the Brisbane Congregation in Queensland, Australia and is the coordinator for the Mercy Global Presence process for her congregation.  Her areas of ministry have been in education and leadership. Sandra is currently a Director on the Board of Mater Misericordiae Hospitals in Queensland and Mangrove Housing Ltd.

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