Monday Morning Offering: 4/5

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

It's Easter Monday, Lord,
and I'm remembering your story...

I'm thinking of the two women
who came, in grief, to mourn at your tomb
and found you'd already risen from the dead...

I'm thinking of your friends
who'd fled and abandoned you,
now hiding in fear behind locked doors...

I'm thinking of Peter,
making his way to your empty tomb
and walking away in amazement...

I'm thinking of the disciples
walking the road to Emmaus
and meeting you, talking with you
- but failing to recognize you...

Seems like your closest friends
didn't get it right away, Lord:
even when you were right in their faces
they didn't immediately or completely understand
all that had happened...

It took time for it all to sink in,

it took time for them to come to believe,

it took time for them to wrap their minds and hearts

around all that had happened...

It took time for them to believe -
and more time for them to act
on what they came to believe...

Takes me time, too, Lord:

after all these years,

the message of Easter

is still sinking in, still making itself known,

still making itself real in my life...

And I still don't understand it all,  Lord:

sometimes I get the dying part

much easier than I grasp rising part... 

 

I believe you're always with me
but many times I miss you, don't see you,
even when you're right there in my face...

I want to find you risen in my life

and yet, I sometimes hide from you,

unsure of what the cost might be

of walking by your side,

following your path...

So this Monday morning, Lord,

I offer you my hope, my desire,

to understand more clearly

and live more fully,

to walk more faithfully

in the light of Easter faith...

Help me see, Lord, help me believe:

you're always right beside me,

always just ahead of me, right behind me,

always guiding me,

showing me the path out of my darkness,

calling me to follow where you lead...

 

Help me understand

when I don't understand, Lord;

help me "get it" when I'm confused;

help me make and take the time

to let your Easter story seep deep

into my thoughts, into my heart,

into my faith...

And because I often miss you

when you're right there by my side,

open my eyes and ears and heart, Lord,

to those in need around me:

help me find you in my neighbor,

serve you in my neighbor,

love you in my neighbor...

 

It's Easter Monday morning, Lord,

and I'm remembering the story of your rising:

draw me out of my darkness 

into the warmth of your light,

to find and see your face,

your risen face,

shining on my own...

 

Amen.

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