Sacred Moments: A Time for New Beginnings

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A Space for Praise and Wonder

The resurrection is the center point of the Christian faith and we Jesus followers, don’t stop

celebrating when the sun goes down on Easter Sunday. The fifty days of Easter are a time for rejoicing, a time of noticing, naming, and claiming new life and new beginnings. The risen-again Jesus comes to us bearing wounds, breathing peace, and empowering us through the Spirit. The season of Eastertide affords us space for praise and wonder, to enter more deeply into the mysteries of the risen Christ and so into the very heart of what it means to be human and into the very heart of our divine creator.

A Space of Divine Mystery

As we remember the life and teachings of Jesus we can learn much about the nature of God. But the resurrection guides us gently past what we can know about God, what we can say with certainty, into a space of divine mystery. One of the most difficult tasks of my preaching is to articulate the good new of Easter morning. How do I, how do we, find words for the transforming, earth- shattering, logic-defying miracle of the resurrection? How do we speak of death and hell and wondrous new life?

At the Table

There are no words. At least there are none that adequately convey what we know in our hearts and yearn to proclaim. When our words fall short, we people of faith lean into imagery, metaphor, ritual, sacrament…. These fall short as well, but they invite us into the mystery that is beyond our words. When we come to the table, remembering the last meal Jesus had with his disciples, we celebrate the joyful feast and proclaim what we believe but cannot fully understand:

                                “Great is the mystery of faith:

                                          Christ has died.

                                          Christ is risen.

                                   Christ will come again.”

At our Baptism

Likewise, at the baptismal font we testify, “we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life. If we were united together in a death like his, we will also be united together in a resurrection like his. ” (Rom 6:4-5)

The Unfolding of the Mystery of God

Our Easter season scriptures, liturgy, songs, images, quotes, poetry, and

stories help us enter into the mystagogia, this “unfolding of the mystery ofGod.” I hope the offerings in this newsletter will help you as you ponder the resurrection and what it means to be a new creation in Christ. May you find cracks, windows, doorways, places to enter into the beautiful, life-giving paschal mystery gifted to each of us through our baptism into Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection.

They were three grueling days. The last night of Jesus’ life, the disciples

learned in a most bitter way that when things get tough they might bolt. We

identify with them, for we have done the same thing. Jesus was killed in a most

brutal way—and innocent. The disciples felt ashamed and disgraced. Then the

unthinkable happened.

When the sky was barely beginning to grow brighter, the women went to the

tomb. There they found the stone rolled away and a stranger dressed in a whiterobe sitting in the tomb. “Jesus is not here. He has risen as he said he would.”

They were stunned, frightened, bewildered. Then they met Jesus, and the light

burst forth. It was a new beginning.

A New Beginning

A new beginning, and the light began to shine. We have to have a new

beginning to really show the surest kind of love. We have to let go of our

preconceived notions about ourselves and others, and we have to then throw

ourselves into what we are doing to help their cause in any way we can. Some

of us will do it more directly, and some of us will just have behind the scenes

experiences.

New Perspectives

One day not long ago my friend Becky and I were going downtown in a Lyft

Rideshare. We were relieved because Becky's guide dog Karma had been

accepted for the ride, but then when the driver began to let us off at the wrong

place, we learned we couldn’t communicate with him, mainly because there

was a huge language barrier. We became angry because we were frustrated.

As we became more frustrated, we began talking more loudly to the man. It is

sort of a coincidence, or maybe not after all, that I had just read an article about

how we need to be in solidarity and understand where some people are coming

from when they refuse our guide dogs for rides. I don’t think the article meant

we had no case, but it did mean that we have to at least see things from the

perspective of the drivers.

A Light Came On

Many of these drivers are in a strange land, and the people are, for the most

part, trying to learn our language. I realize that this learning of a language isn’t

always easy. The light came on. I realized I need to behave in a way that will

imply I have compassion for the drivers, too. I must let go of my hard-hearted

opinions and judgments and try to befriend them. I won’t always get it right, but

I may make a difference to brighten my corner of the world. Let the light shine,

and let God’s love and light guide me.