Some of you may remember the song by Johnny Lee “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” I am thinking of that song, not because I have an ear worm, but rather the idea that we may be looking for Easter in all the wrong places and looking for Easter with Good Friday eyes! I think of the grief filled eyes of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. They were so filled with Good Friday grief that they were unable to recognize Jesus walking with them until they finally sat down and looked into his eyes and had a meal. They recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
I know that today I find myself in a similar position as those disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Just as the Covid-19 pandemic is easing its grip and we can relax a bit, Russia invaded Ukraine. Not only is a beautiful country being destroyed, but countless civilian and innocent lives are lost and the whole world is being threatened with biological and nuclear war. The need to recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread is so very necessary if this Easter and any Easter is to have any meaning at all.
With my “Easter Eyes” I stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Poland who have opened their hearts to the millions of refugees who have sought safety in their boarders. They are not only providing food, clothing, and shelter, but also education for the children that are present. When I read the fine print, I realize too that they are also helping Ukrainian families connect with relatives in other countries and paying their airfare to be united not with strangers in Poland, but family members in other nations that will provide safety.
The reason Jesus came was to teach us how to live. And to hear these and so many other stories of welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, how could any of us fail to recognize the presence of the Risen Christ in the many faithful Christians today who live and breath the teachings of the first century prophet from Nazareth?
So, I invite us all to take off our Good Friday glasses and take the time to recognize the presence of Christ in the goodness of others. But most important to be and bring the presence of Christ to all by living as Christ has taught us. May our hearts burn within us as Jesus encourages us to be His hands and feet and presence on the journey each day! May we look for Easter in all the right places, and may we be Easter in all the right places!