Hallelujah, Christ is risen, the Lord is risen indeed! After we sing these responses in the liturgy, often I am overwhelmed with feelings of weariness and exhaustion. The Lenten sojourn takes much energy, as we engage minds, hearts, and senses in acts of mercy, service and worship during the forty days. Now in our journey of faith we explore the themes and symbols of the Great Forty Days, from Easter to Ascension, revealing the depth of grace and mercy offered to us through the gift of resurrection. Most years, I pause, wearied from the journey, and try to refocus, centre myself, and continue a life of prayer and action into all things Easter.
Each year there is always a moment, a calmness, in Easter week, as I begin a mental shift from Lent and Passion to Resurrection, Easter, and beyond. I reflect on the journey, I give thanks, I find quiet in my body and soul, so that I might hear the stirring of the Spirit.
For me, that has usually come in shoreline walks, contemplating the power and majesty of creation, along the North Atlantic coast. I appreciate the immensity of creation, and my own minute place in space and time.
How many Easters have I experienced? How many Easters has the world seen? How will my attentiveness to nature, to liturgy, to community, to society bring about the change that we see promised in the person of Jesus, in the Gospel as we have inherited it?
At some point during my Easter walks, I am reminded that the kingdom is now, and not yet. We are a part of the present, yet not of the fullness of life because all of life is not yet realized. We are but small players in the history of the cosmos. This reflection helps keep my focus, as with each passing year there are more blessings for which to be thankful, as well as more concerns for which to pray.
This year, I will not be walking shorelines breathing in salt air. Instead, I will be exploring mountain paths under the shadow of majestic trees and walking sandy beaches on the shores of Kootenay Lake. Though my location has changed, the Holy One has not, nor has the challenge of faith. These next forty days I will be exploring the message and reality of resurrection. What does it mean for me to die and rise once again? How can I continue to die daily to negative patterns, approaches, and feelings? How do I rise to the resurrected life?
There is much to be done to address injustice, promote human dignity, and care for creation. I am thankful that in my Easter journey, as with my Lenten one, I am not alone. I walk with the Holy One, and I am supported by the community of faith. I may have personal challenges, insecurities, fears, but I face them as I move forward, in community with God, with the parish, and within wider society.
My understanding and expression of my spirituality has grown. The narrative of Scripture stays constant, yet with every passing season new light, new insight, and new growth intertwine such that the expression of my spirituality deepens. There will be many walks in Easter season as we move forward to Ascension and Pentecost. I live hopeful that the growth in me will contribute to the continued work of the Spirit in addressing the brokenness, pain, and injustice present all around.
