Easter God,
In this change of seasons, for some autumn, for others springtime, may it be a time of new beginnings,
We realize that oftentimes the news tells us a different story.
When we read the news,
We often feel it is still full of death and decay,
As if we remained in the tomb instead of celebrating His resurrection.
And while we may admit transformation is slowly happening in new ways,
It’s still so easy to dwell in Good Friday,
Instead of what is revealed after.
As Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with His followers,
He shared their pain and sorrow.
He didn’t try to change how they were feeling,
But rather asked questions about what they were carrying.
Jesus still walks with us today.
He walks with Lebanon as people are unable to bury their dead in their
ancestral lands due to being attacked by Israel.
He walks with nations at war: Iran, Sudan (which is now in the 3rd year of
civil war), and with Palestine.
On the road, He, as pastor, is curious and asks women to share their stories with
Him. Stories of the hurt and betrayal they face due to Deep Fake AI which overwhelmingly targets females and produces gendered, image-based abuse and school bullying. And He weeps with them over how William Hamish Yeats, a 19-year-old from Australia took advantage by creating internet pornography.
He comforts the women in California, USA who are coming forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Eric Swalwell (a former democratic congressman) even though he denies “each and every allegation.”
And Christ is listening to the women whom UK’s King Charles and Queen Camila refuse to meet with, who have been abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
Jesus walks with Camilla as she will meet in late April with representatives from groups advocating against intimate partner violence. And in those meetings, Jesus’s heart and ears are open to their pleas. They seek a safer and more just world where women are believed and those who author harm are held accountable. It is in the breaking of bread, that Jesus’s disciples recognize Him and ask, “were not our hearts burning within us?”
They recognize Him through the actions of Spain who has given legal status to 500, 000 undocumented migrants, allowing them to be integrated formally into the workplace. And the hearts of those who follow Him are burning as they ask what they can do about ICE in the U.S.A. and what they can do about Greece where the police have been recruiting migrants to violently push other migrants back across its land border with Türkiye.
The hearts of those who cry for peace and justice cry out as they celebrate the Trump administration agreeing to return the Pride Flag to the New York Stonewall Monument in the U.S.A. and as they continue to fight for the rights of queer folk and especially trans folk who are so often the recipients of fear, anger, and hate.
As Jesus appeared to Thomas who once doubted whether the resurrection was true, so Jesus also walks with us in our doubts.
He walks with the people of Ukraine as they doubt whether the Easter Truce will really stick especially as there have already been more than 2,000 ceasefire violations with Russia.
He lets the people of Canada feel His closeness to them as they worry about possible fuel surcharges that will add to the already high grocery prices thus furthering the food insecurity issues that already exist.
And to the people of Hungary who are uncertain of what the post-election will bring, He says, “Peace be with you.”
For the disciples who felt that their Leader was still dead even as He was walking right beside them, and for us, who wonder where is God when school shootings take place. In two consecutive days, in nearby provinces in southeast Türkiye an 18-year-old in Siverek, Sanliurfa province wounded sixteen students, teachers and staff, killing himself. Five were seriously wounded. The next day a middle school 14-year-old boy killed nine people, wounding thirteen and six seriously in Kahramanmaras province with his father’s weapons.
We hear of contaminated needles given to HIV positive children in Pakistan.
It is reported by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the International Organization for Migration that a migrant boat has sunk in the Indian Ocean near Bangladesh in the Andaman Sea. Over 250 Rohingya and Bangladeshis, including children are missing in the rough seas and winds. Bound for Malaysia the trawler was overcrowded. The ongoing violence in Rakhine, Myanmar has displaced Rohingya to Bangladesh, a host country. Nine survivors were found after two days at sea clinging to barrels and wood.
In Berekum, Ghana the Chelsea football team was attacked on their return home from a match. They suffered the killing of their team mate and winger 20-year-old old Dominic Frimpong.
Jesus still shows up and says, “I’m right here with you in this mess.”
Eastertide this year may not seem all that joyful, but still, we know that we can
trust in the One who cares for us. Hear our pleas, and listens to our hearts’
longings. When we are filled with doubt, fear, and confusion, come in and
help us to hear, “I’m walking beside you, I feel your hearts burning, and I offer you my
companionship.”
Amen.
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