I love Easter Monday. I set no alarm and leave the day blank in my calendar. No agenda. Any tasks undertaken evolve organically - no planning allowed! So the brief freak snowstorm invited me to make some soup and putter a bit in the kitchen, having previously puttered a bit upstairs moving furniture into a new configuration.
Easter often leaves me feeling like it is time for something new.
This year the daily readings for Lent and Holy Week were stunningly applicable as they both challenged and comforted me from day one. Surprisingly, one reading has remained with me from the very beginning of Lent - continuing to slip into my awareness for what seems like no apparent reason. Often it stays just out of my line of sight - echoing deeply within my heart - I know it is there even when I am not actively pondering it. Perhaps it brings the wisdom of the next lesson...
Because I prefer Advent to Lent, I set the bar low in terms of expectations and keep my focus on all the pastoral/liturgical tasks of the season (of which there are many). Despite my low expectations, I soon found myself on an unexpected journey of deepening awareness, compassion and growth. Will it lead to further transformation?
Abbot John Klassen's meditation today raises these kinds of Easter Monday questions when he writes:
Our belief in the possibility of genuine human transformation is rooted in the resurrection of Christ. This change is not superficial, like a new 'do or shirt. It is deep change, coming from the inside out, energized and guided by the resurrection of Christ. So some questions: What do I want to do that is totally new for me because Christ is Risen and I share in that resurrection? What do we as a community want to do that is totally new because Christ is risen and we share in that resurrection?
I want the newness that emerges in my life this Eastertide to be more than a reshuffle of furniture or a new batch of soup. I want it to reflect a deepening of my relationship with the One who is Love so that my transformation into my true self continues - much like the children and I discussed on Sunday regarding the nymph and the dragonfly. One can serve most fully and deeply when serving through the true self rooted in Love.
I wonder what newness will emerge in me this Eastertide? I wonder what newness will emerge for my church community?
Savoring the bliss of Easter Monday,
Kim
