HE IS NOT HERE.
The person in white sitting by the tomb had spoken.
We don’t know where they took him.
So spoke Mary from Magdala
Where then, do we find Him?
Should we look for Him in Notre Dame Paris, amid the cinders and molten lead from shattered stained-glass windows? A museum-cathedral gutted and desecrated by both fire and the shame of sexual abuse over so many long years.
Should we look for Him in St Mary’s Cathedral in Marawi City in the southern part of the Philippines? A cathedral also gutted and desecrated in 2017 by fire. Not fire from inside but fire from outside, fire of bombs and bullets from the war against separatists.
Should we look for Him in the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, not gutted but desecrated by the death of so many Muslim believers at the hands of but one white supremist.
Forget the buildings, grand though they may or may not be. They are monuments to man and history. Look for Him rather among the living.
Find Him in a church-as-people, humbled and ashamed, repentant and seeking forgiveness for the sins of so many against children.
Find Him in the people of Marawi, Muslim and Christian, bereft not only of their place of worship, but of their homes and their loved ones.
Find Him in the grieving and pain of the people of Christchurch, Muslim and Christian, coming together as they echo the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
Find Him in the joy and smiles of Dawa and Nima Pelden from Bhutan. Once co-joined, each a prisoner of the other, they now sing and dance together but separately, their life and freedom a gift of the medical community of Australia, reflecting His Dream for the world.
Find Him in our own hearts but only by finding Him in the hearts of others, even those we may have issues with. He said, “Even the pagans love those who love them. But you, love those you have issues with, as I love them, that you may find Me”.
Find Him in creative endeavors with others for the common good, stepping away from divisive discussion and negative judgements.
Find Him in the beauty of creation, in fostering of the growth of trees, flowers and birds that are gifts of God freely given.
Seek Him more in the wealth of His Story, less in the maze of doctrine and law.
Seek Him out by not turning away from the poor and homeless; rather look into their eyes to see His pain and goodness radiated.
Discover Him in the care of the elderly, the nursing of the sick, companionship of the disabled, the tending of wounds and the healing of broken hearts.
Wait for Him in silence, and He will find you.
His Spirit will shatter the illusions we have of ourselves, our world and our relationships. Just as the Resurrection shattered the illusion of death.
We are then open to walk in greater freedom of self-knowledge, responsibility and selflessness.
