The Greeting
The other day at the hospital Don, one of the Environmental Service staff, was greeting people by name as they passed him. There was such an exchange of joy between him and those who returned his greeting. He was sitting at a cross roads where people normally just buzz by each other, barely taking the time to look at each other. He merely raised his hand in greeting, smiled and said hello.

I was moved by how little it took for people to become more present to each other… a mere greeting. We are celebrating these days the many ways in which the Risen One showed up in ordinary ways just like Don… walking down a dusty road with two disciples mourning the loss of the leader, preparing breakfast for fishermen who were returning toward the shore tired after catching nothing despite their best efforts, showing up looking like a gardener near the tomb…yet each of these encounters became moments of epiphany as the Risen One was recognized.

Our days have the potential of encountering the Risen One through each other; if we make room for the ordinary to invite us into the holy presence of surprise and connection.