Today is Wednesday, May 1, 2024. It is Wednesday of Holy Week in Ukraine. We are four days from Easter according to the Orthodox calendar. There are missile strikes in Odessa. I am working on my sermon for Easter Sunday and my heart is so heavy with the unending sorrow of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.

Everyday in Ukraine people live in fear of the missiles. Because it happens every day it is not really news worthy to the rest of the world. Only if the missile causes lots of death does it make a headline in the world news. Imagine if a ballistic missile hit your town today… that would be BIG news. It is Day 797 of Russia’s War against Ukraine.

Sometimes Christians are so eager for the good news of the resurrection that we rush past the cross of Jesus – and the crosses of all those who, like Jesus, are victims of the violence of the sinful world. For the next few days our church family is walking through the sorrow caused by the violence that put Jesus on the cross. We are also walking through the great chasm of grief that the endless news of missile strikes creates in the hearts of all Ukrainians.

We know that Easter is coming – that Jesus is risen. But we still live in the valley of the shadow of death, waiting and hoping for God to make all things new. Newness is often hard to imagine when the violence is still killing people every single day. Please pray for the people of Ukraine.