“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie delivered an emotional Easter message on April 5, speaking about the “excruciating” unknowns from her mother’s disappearance that led her to reflect on her faith.
Her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, was last seen on Jan. 31 at her home near East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue in Catalina Foothills, Arizona, and investigators believe she may have been abducted. No suspects have been identified, and the investigation remains ongoing.
In a video message shared with Good Shepherd New York, Savannah shared her “darkest moments,” though not explicitly referring to her mother’s disappearance, which left her wondering whether Jesus had experienced the “excruciating” feeling of not knowing.
The video was made on Easter Day, a Christian celebration commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“We celebrate today the promise of a new life that never ends in death. But standing here today, I have to tell you, there are moments in which that promise seems irretrievably far away, when life itself seems far harder than death. These moments of deep disappointment with God, the feeling of utter abandonment,” Savannah Guthrie said.
“Recently, though, in my season of trial, I have wondered, I have questioned, whether Jesus really ever experienced this particular wound that I feel, this grievous and uniquely cruel injury of not knowing, of uncertainty and confusion, and answers withheld.
“In those darkest moments, I have thought, bitterly and perhaps irreverently, that I have stumbled upon a feeling that Jesus did not know.”
She said that in moments of vulnerability comes “a portal of revelation,” noting that, as she reflected on Jesus’s crucifixion, she realized that God understands the uncertainty she went through.
“On the cross, he cried out, ‘My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?’ That is the anguished cry of someone who does not know the answers,” she said.
She ended her message by saying, “I still believe, and so I say with conviction, Happy Easter.”
Savannah Guthrie, who had stepped back from the show following her mother’s disappearance, is set to return on April 6.
In a televised interview with colleague Hoda Kotb last month, Savannah Guthrie said that returning to the show carries a deeper personal meaning as she navigates uncertainty.
“I think it’s part of my purpose right now. I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real,” she said. “My joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer.”
Nancy Guthrie has been described by her family as having physical ailments that limit her mobility. She also requires daily medication for a heart condition.
Authorities believe she was kidnapped or otherwise taken against her will. The FBI has released surveillance footage showing a masked individual outside the home the night she vanished.
The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her recovery, while the FBI is offering an additional $100,000 reward tied to information that could lead to an arrest and conviction.
Haika Mrema contributed to this report.
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