Living the Resurrection in a Broken World

Two weeks ago, at the Strong Life rescue mission for the homeless, I had an experience that has stayed with me. It shaped my Palm Sunday homily, and now, in the light of Easter, it speaks even more clearly.

When I arrived, a woman was curled up behind a trash can, wrapped in blankets. Inside, someone asked me to pray for Elizabeth and her partner, Randy, who had been hit by a car the night before and airlifted to Winston-Salem.  He had tried to cross the interstate, but misjudged the speed of the oncoming car. 

Later that morning, Elizabeth walked in. I recognized her immediately as the woman in the blankets. She showered, ate, changed clothes, and then asked about Randy’s mail. When I gently asked how he was, she shrugged: “I haven’t been told anything.” Fifteen years together—and suddenly, everything’s uncertain.

Then I asked, “How are you doing?”

She paused. “Stressed.”  One small word carried the shock, fear, and grief from witnessing the horror of this tragic accident.

As she spoke, I could feel the weight of what she couldn’t say. For a moment, I was holding something she could not hold alone. 

She asked for a prayer.  I lifted my hands and closed my eyes. After saying a few words, I felt her fingers lightly touching mine. She wasn’t reaching for prayer. She was reaching for connection.

That brief touch felt like a window into the Cross. Jesus does not stand at a distance from suffering. He enters it. He carries what we cannot. He takes on not only our sins, but the pain of a wounded world.

And the Resurrection means that this love did not end on Good Friday. It is alive now. Christ is present—moving through ordinary moments, making himself known. “You in me, and I in you.” (Jn 14:20)

How is this experience inviting me to live the resurrection amidst life’s brokenness?  Three responses come to mind: 

• Stay present—without rushing past pain.
• Listen beneath the words.
• In small ways, allow others to share their burden.
  

Easter is not only about Jesus rising. It is an invitation to help others rise—from fear, from loneliness, from whatever tomb they are in.

Sometimes resurrection begins simply with a heart that listens and the courage to stay.

May the Lord walk with you during this Easter season, and if the need arises, grant you the grace to walk with another.