Easter 2024 A Message from Bishop Laurie ~ Rummaging for God

Easter 2024  A Message from Bishop Laurie

Rummaging for God

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed. Alleluia!

Does your house have a junk drawer? Do you ever find yourself going through this drawer full of stuff; feeling around looking for something that you are sure must be in there somewhere? Twist ties from bread wrappers, pens, batteries, rubber bands, nail clippers, scissors, matches, superglue, glass cleaner, coins, tiny screwdriver, ChapStick, charger cables, sticky notes… Rummaging around in your junk drawer might seem like a strange illustration for an Easter message, but I invite you to consider your memory of past life events as your junk drawer.

Think back on last year’s Easter celebration. What do you remember? Rummage around in those memories to see if you can find God. You are pretty sure God is there somewhere but where? Where did you experience God last Easter? Was it in church, at the sunrise service, a sermon, a Bible reading, a hymn, an Easter egg hunt in the park, a gathering with family or friends, or a walk in the woods later that day? How did you experience God and the miracle of Christ’s resurrection last Easter?

Now, think back over your lifetime, a lifetime of Easter celebrations, for me that 66 Easters. Where did you see or experience God and the power of the resurrection, God’s transforming love that defeated death and gives new life?

Looking back over a day, a year, a lifetime is a spiritual practice called the Examen[1]. Essentially it is rummaging through our memories, looking for when and how God was present. The Examen is a form of daily prayer that invites us to examine our day to find God. Finding God in all things and at all times gives us the strength for that next most faithful step.

I wondered what must have been going through Mary Magdalene’s mind as she walked to the tomb that first Easter morning. Was she rummaging through all the memories of her time walking with Jesus? Was she trying to remember every word Jesus said? Was she looking for a clue, some way to make sense of what happened on Friday? Where was God in all of this? How could this possibly bring in God’s kingdom? She must have missed something. She saw him die. How could Jesus’ death be part of God’s plan?

Mary arrived at the tomb and found the stone rolled away. She didn’t find what she was looking for. The body wasn’t there. It still made no sense. Did someone steal his body? She knows that God is in all of this, but where? She continues to search with Peter and John and finally after they leave she enters the tomb and through her tears sees the angels and then a gardener, but not a gardener but the teacher, the risen Savior; and finally through her tears she sees God. (John 20)

John 20:11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.

Dear Friends, I invite you to rummage through all the memories in the junk drawer of life and find God. Think back over a lifetime, a lifetime of trips to the tomb and Easter celebrations. See God and the power of the resurrection. See God’s transforming love that defeated death and gives new life. May seeing God in all of life give you the courage and strength to take your next most faithful step.

Rev. Laurie Skow-Anderson

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[1] Rummaging for God: Praying Backwards through Your Day - IgnatianSpirituality.com