One of the things I love about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus is that he always showed up where the disciples already were. He came to them. He stood among them.
No negotiating of time and place. No have your people talk to my people. No nervous preparation and best bib and tie.
When the disciples gathered, Jesus came to where they were. In a locked room. On the road. Out fishing. Jesus was there.
In this time of pandemic, lockdown and isolation I find this so comforting to remember. We are not alone. We are not separated from God. Jesus is here with us.
Someone sent me a prayer for Ash Wednesday by Thom Shuman that speaks to this reality. It begins this way:
Even if we had them
from a year ago, God of our lives,
we would not be able
to burn the palm branches,
for they would be too soaked
by the tears of loneliness, of emptiness,
of these months of so much uncertainty.
But we do bring ashes
in this moment, this day, this night,
Companion on our journey,
those ashes from an overwhelming year,
the ashes from dreams turned to nightmares,
the ashes of the jobs we lost,
the anniversaries, the birthdays, the graduations,
the weddings, the funerals we dared not attend.
This has been an overwhelming year that has felt more like a permanent state of Lent than the joy of Easter. There are many things we miss and many things we mourn which are recounted in the prayer. But there is more. The prayer continues:
So, Spirit of the silence of our days,
take these ashes of our lives
and mingle them with the dust
from our crumbled hearts
and our shattered souls, to mark us
with that hope which has never left us
even though we may not have realized
that it, like you, was as close
as the very next breath we take.
Jesus is with us and has been with us, among us in our loneliness, our silence, our sorrow, our dislocation. And Jesus is still here; standing among us, where we are—working at home, online schooling, online worship, masked trips to the grocery store.
Wherever we are, the risen Jesus is with us, bringing us hope, for us, for our world, for the future. Breathe in. Feel the presence of the holy one. Let yourself feel that resurrection joy. Pandemic and death are not the final answer.
Hold on to hope. Alleluia, Amen.
National Bishop Susan Johnson
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada