Lectio: Wondering

A Thought on the Gospel for the First Sunday of Easter, Year C

I have Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Aside from some very mild loss in high pitches, my hearing is otherwise normal. But some people would not know it…or believe it. My basic lived reality is that my brain is limited in its ability to choose what sounds to attend to, and struggles to make those sounds meaningful so that they can be understood as words and phrases and sentences. This is especially true in settings with white noise, or a lot of things going on. ADHD doesn’t help that. So there have been a lot of occasions in life where I have been left wondering—wondering what was said, wondering what I missed, wondering why the people I know are reasonable just told me something that doesn’t follow or make sense in the context.

Luke 24:1-12 tells us the disciples felt the same way. The women disciples wonder as they look for the body of Jesus. The Eleven and the other disciples wonder as they listen to the women’s testimony of resurrection. Peter wonders even after seeing the empty tomb with his own eyes. Resurrection is not a relief of our questions and doubts. It is the healing of our death and everything that led us there, but it is not going to satisfy our confusion. When we embrace Easter, we embrace the reality that new life in Jesus has come for us. But let us not be surprised when we are still wondering.