Among the Dead

The angels asked it at the empty tomb. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) They were speaking to the women who thought they would find Jesus' corpse, but instead, they found nothing. People around the world celebrate this empty tomb each year as Easter. The question asked by angels then is a valid one for abuse survivors to contemplate today. Why are you looking for life among the dead?

If you're like most abuse survivors, you've probably spent enormous amounts of time, energy, and resources trying to fix the chaos you experience in your mind, soul, and body. Perhaps you turned to food or anger. Perhaps you turned to drinking or drugs. Maybe sex was your hiding place or work or religion or dysfunctional people. Your search for that take-your-breath-away moment that will make everything better has most likely taken you to the same places that thousands of others have gone. After all, we all carry our scars in different places and in different ways - but they're still scars, nonetheless.

So, here you are. You've been shattered, confused, chaotic, and diminished and you're looking - really looking - for . . . something. You try this. You try that. But it feels more like you arrived at "almost there" rather than "THERE!"

The women who found the empty tomb of Jesus were expecting a corpse. They experienced such heart-wrenching trauma as they saw their friend, brother, son, and teacher tortured and killed - that they could only pursue what they knew - death. One key point in this story is that they were surprised when they didn't find what they were looking for.

Looking at your own abuse recovery, you've had this same kind of sense - that you didn't find what you thought would most certainly fix things - and that surprises you. These traumatized friends of Jesus were looking in the wrong place for the wrong thing. They were at a tomb looking for a corpse. What would change them forever could not be found there.

The good news is that every time you look for life in dead places, practices, or relationships - you've eliminated one more thing that hasn't worked for you. The great news is that life - the life of freedom, renewal, and hope - that life begins when the question "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" beckons you to look elsewhere - to follow that Guide who will lead you away from the grave to a place where the living dwell.