Easter has come and gone. At least it has for many of us. Yet Easter is not just a day, it is the whole season from now until Pentecost. It is not the culmination of the gospel. It is just the beginning. The beginning of God’s new world of justice and peace and abundance. Sound like the world we live in? No it doesn’t. We still have a lot of work to do. However, Easter is the season to show others what kind of world we believe Jesus’ resurrection ushered into our broken world. It is a season to get out and practice hospitality, compassion, love, healing, generosity and care for creation. It is a season to show by our words and actions that we really do believe Jesus is indeed alive and is transforming our world… through us!
In N.T. Wright’s words which I quoted in yesterday’s Meditation Monday: Living Into the Resurrection: Jesus is risen, therefore God’s new world has begun. Jesus is risen, the world have been redeemed. Jesus is risen, his followers have a new job to do to bring the life of heaven to birth in actual, physical earthly reality.” You might also like to check out my Easter guide (available for free download) A Journey Into God’s Resurrection Created World in which I attempt to help us envision this world and how to live into it.
“What kind of God do we want to incarnate to our world? Is it a God of love and compassion who leaves ninety-nine sheep in order to rescue one that has gone astray, or one who constantly accuses those who do not follow God’s ways? Is it a God who gets his hands dirty by entering, in a very personal and human way, into the pain and suffering of our world, or one who inflicts pain and anguish as punishment for our sins? Is it a God who celebrates life with enthusiasm by turning water into wine at a wedding, or one who strips us of our joy by placing heavy burdens on our shoulders? Is it a God who hears our cries and brings justice for the poor and oppressed, or one who stands aloof and indifferent to our pain?”
Karen Wilk also talks about the challenges of practicing resurrection in her poem Practice Resurrection. As she says it is much easier in the spring when everything is new, but not so easy when the ship is stuck in the muck. Ellen Haroutunian also talks about resurrection living in her wonderful article Holy Fools Can Heal the World I love her description of Jesus as the archetypal Holy Fool and how holy foolishness bids us listen to those we know are wrong, As she says “The ability to extend pardon and even love to those who have hurt us is what makes us most like Jesus, the Holy Fool.”
In the last few days of Holy Week in A Jahrzeit During Lent: Bill Borror reminds us of the paradoxes of grief and love, of death and hope. On Maundy Thursday June Friesen reminded us of what this celebration is all about and in her Freerange Friday: Good Friday Cups Lilly Lewin helped us walk through Good Friday as he took the cup of suffering.
Last Wednesday we launched The Liturgical Rebels Episode 4. Block Printing As Spiritual Practice With Kreg Yingst.I think it is the best episode so far. Kreg is a very inspiring artist. Next week I am excited to publish an interview with one of my mentors, the man who gave me permission to become a liturgical rebel – Mark Pierson, a Baptist pastor in Auckland New Zealand.
A big thank you to those of you who have embraced my move to Substack and even become paid subscribers to help me continue my work more effectively. I know this move has confused some of you and probably frustrated others as you would have received more emails than usual this week – some from the usual Mailchimp route and some directly from Substack. In the next few weeks our Mailchimp email list will be closed and all emails will only come from Substack. The Godspacelight blog will continue to operate. The biggest change will be that you will no longer receive daily emails when a Godspace post goes live, unless you subscribe to the blog directly through wordpress.
So what will you receive from Substack? Free subscribers will receive 2 regular posts a week – my Meditation Monday will be sent out to everyone on the Godspacelight mailing list. I will also continue to send out this weekly Godspacelight Newsletter through which you will receive links to other Godspacelight posts, updates on the Liturgical Rebels podcast, and events I am facilitating. Paid subscribers will receive additional posts, ideas about seasonal spiritual practices and poetry/prayers I write.
Don’t forget too, to sign up for the upcoming Spirituality of Gardening Retreat. Note that the time has been changed so that it is now a 3 hour retreat. Two hours was not enough time for me to walk you through some of the lessons of discovering God in the natural world as we practice Lectio Tierra; walk barefoot in the garden, experience the scents of flowers, touch leaves, and gaze up at the sky. This will be a fun filled and instructive session. A wonderful celebration of God’s awe inspiring world. I hope you will join me.
Let us live today,
In Christ’s resurrection light.
Let us live
By God’s law of love,
Extending mercy, compassion and joy.
Let us share the gifts
God has given us,
Practicing generosity, hospitality and love.
Let us live
As Christ would have us live,
Bringing freedom, justice and hope
To our troubled world.
Many Blessings
Photo by Mikhail Nilov on pexels