A Word from Laura: Still Showing Up
In our lectionary, the Sunday after Easter always brings the story of Thomas from the gospel of John. It’s a great passage, not just because Jesus acknowledges Thomas’s doubts, but because we get to “see” Jesus, too. John reminds us the resurrection doesn’t magically erase Jesus’s wounds – or the pain, suffering and trauma of the past. Instead Jesus keeps on showing up, impossibly, bearing witness to a life stronger than his trauma.
Easter doesn’t erase Jesus’s suffering, nor does it erase ours, as much as I sometimes wish it would. The resurrection reminds us that Jesus does show up, that life has a power stronger than we imagined.
This week brought struggles to our family many of you have experienced yourselves, as we saw my parents-in-law for the first time in fifteen months. The last time we saw them, Pop (as the kids call their grandfather) had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and Mimi was going to be moved to a memory care unit. Through the pandemic - and chemotherapy, the memory loss struggles, and all the accompanying grief - they have lived apart, in separate wings of their retirement facility, where heavy-hearted, we now realize they will stay. This week we cleaned out their home of several years. I thought I had budgeted enough time and energy; turns out I needed twice as much!
Honestly, I’m still looking for Jesus to show up. I look as I reflect on Mimi and Pop’s heartbreak and ability to hold fast to their dignity , as I give thanks for my husband’s ability to work out the details in the midst of his own grief and the “unfinished business” we all have with our families of origin. I look for Jesus as I marvel at the ability of so many humans to keep going even after all the medical struggles of this year. I’ve caught glimpses in the kindness of friends, in the joy of the news of vaccines, in the chance to hug and share physical space.
In this season of Eastertide, I’m still looking for Jesus. I hope you’ll join me as part of our community of faith, where we learn to trust and seek the places where Jesus still shows up and says,
“Peace be with you,”
Laura