Among Glazed Donuts

I remember sitting on an old crusty couch in a basement turned youth group room one Easter Sunday as a high schooler when I came to the realization that Jesus was alive. I mean, really alive. Right there, among hand-me-down furniture and boxed glazed donuts, Jesus was not simply present in a pastor’s words and reflections. Simple and profound: Jesus was present.

He...is...risen.

In the gospel reading for this week (John 20:1-18), Jesus is first present with Mary Magdalene and later with his disciples.

In the second narrative, John writes, “Later that day, the disciples had gathered together and locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” He showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant.”

Through locked doors and all, Jesus invades their presence. The resurrected Christ transformed the realities of Mary and the disciples, but these occasions are not simply ancient stories to marvel at. They are particularly significant because Jesus is transforming us here and now--overcoming our weeping and invading our locked doors by inaugurating God’s making-all-things-new reality. The Christian hope hinges on our realization that Jesus is here right now among the glazed donuts, bringing peace, calling us into a life with him, and sending us to be agents of love in God’s transforming reality as sisters and brothers in Christ.

Today, may the resurrection of Jesus Christ shake up our world a little bit, stir exuberance within us, and ultimately propel us into our communities as constant living affirmations of Jesus’ resurrection.