It
is no wonder that Easter is the highest of high holidays for Christianity. It’s a remarkable story. And beyond the miraculous it is a very human
story of hope and healing. Christians
celebrate that God has come to be in solidarity with humanity & so the
story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, & resurrection is one that inspires many
to strive to reflect in some small, imperfect way the image of God in whom we
have all been created.
In
particular, Jesus’ journey from Palm Sunday to Easter includes so many familiar
aspects of the human experience – the praise & acclaim from riding high on
Palm Sunday to the lowest of lows soon thereafter – rejection, denial,
abandonment. There is betrayal &
forgiveness, uncertainty & reassurance, suffering & simple acts of kindness. There is grief & joy.
So,
it is with our journeys as well. Every
day, right now, not just in hospital rooms but also in our homes, our
communities, & throughout our world there is uncertainty & anxiety. Those
who were riding high that now find themselves in a valley of fear from a
shocking diagnosis, a sudden surprising turn of events; there are broken
bodies, broken lives all around us. Yes,
we must admit that we, too, are broken.
And
yet there is hope all around us, too – hope for healing. Yes, miraculous hope for cancer to disappear,
for heart disease to be cured. But also,
if we have the eyes to see it, we learn that even when cure is not possible,
healing is always within grasp. And that
healing takes many forms – healing of fractured family relationships, healing
of spiritual distress & despair. And
this healing arrives in so many ways. A
prayer, the tender care of a nurse, a walk in the woods, a listening ear of a social worker, by
saying “thank you”, “I’m sorry,” & “I forgive you”, in the smile of a
stranger, a gentle touch, the simple presence of our loved ones around us.
And
so during this miraculous time of Easter let us rekindle our hope for healing
in all its forms, our vision of life abundant for all, the promise of new beginnings, and
the reassurance that hope springs eternal.
May it be so.
Note: I wrote this reflection in April 2012 as part of an Easter sunrise service that I led at a local hospital where I served as chaplain.
Note: I wrote this reflection in April 2012 as part of an Easter sunrise service that I led at a local hospital where I served as chaplain.
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