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Savannah Guthrie has shared a deeply personal Easter message, opening up about her struggles with faith as the search for her mother, Nancy Guthrie, continues.
Speaking during a Good Shepherd New York livestream on April 5, the Today co-anchor reflected on the emotional toll of not knowing what happened to her mother, who was reported missing in February.
"We celebrate today the promise of a new life that never ends in death," she said. "But standing here today, I have to tell you, there are moments in which that promise seems irretrievably far away."
Guthrie described experiencing "moments of deep disappointment with God" and "the feeling of utter abandonment," admitting that the uncertainty surrounding her mother's disappearance has been especially difficult to process. She said she has found herself questioning whether Jesus ever experienced the same kind of pain.
"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," she continued, "I have thought... that I have stumbled upon a feeling that Jesus did not know."
However, Guthrie said her perspective began to shift through reflection. Drawing on her faith, she recalled the biblical account of Jesus expressing anguish on the cross, leading her to consider that he may have understood that same sense of uncertainty. "Perhaps he did know this feeling after all," she said.
She added that questioning faith is not necessarily wrong, saying, "it isn't wrong... to challenge our God with questions," and emphasized that belief can still exist even in doubt. Guthrie said her faith now brings comfort in the idea that God understands human suffering and offers presence, even when answers are not immediate.
While acknowledging that her message might feel heavy for Easter, she stressed the importance of recognising pain alongside hope. "It is the darkness that makes this morning's light so magnificent," she said, adding, "I still believe."
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was taken from her home in Arizona, and investigations remain ongoing.
