What I've Learned Since Holy Saturday (Part 1)

I honestly didn't intend to take a five month hiatus from making entries on this blog.
Granted, I've been sporadic since I began this project -- writing in ebbs and flows -- but this latest absenteeism has been a byproduct (I think) of what happens when an overstuffed calendar meets a soul that is easily distracted. So...in order for me to begin this work again, I thought I'd catch up to myself and think a bit about the span of time between Holy Saturday and Labor Day, 2010.

Here's some of what I've learned:

1. I've learned that Easter compels Christians to face their own lives -- if Resurrection matters (and I believe it matters to the extent that without it, the Christian faith is, well, "pitiable"), then we must work toward understanding how it impacts our day-to-day living. I've come to think that when we focus our attention solely on the notion of "life after death" we forget to fully live our "lives before death". At fifty-one, I'm all too aware of the statistical shortness of this gift of living. The reduction of the Resurrection to little more than a Band-aid over the gaping wound of the fear of death keeps us from truthfully acknowledging and fully embracing the reality of our own deaths. If we take the Incarnation seriously (that God became flesh in the person of Jesus), then we have to acknowledge that death is so much a part of being human not even God could escape it. Jesus faced death in a way that demonstrates how we can face life -- head on, arms wide, heart full, eyes open.

2. I've learned (again) the power of sharing faith stories. As I've listened to lay leaders in Trinity Church publicly tell of their doubts and fears, their joys and loves, their hopes and dreams -- all within the context of living as a follower of Jesus, I've been transformed. I've had my own faith strengthened. I've had my own cynicism challenged. I've had my own heart touched. Testimony is powerful because Christians hear other Christians "come clean" about the complexity of faith -- that it isn't just a happy face on Sundays. testimony reminds us of the ways in which faith is discovered in the nitty gritty of life...as it is lived out -- with families, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners -- one day at a time.

3. I've learned that enthusiasm (of the quiet, reserved Episcopal sort and even some of the other kind!) is contagious. There's no shortage of voices opining about the impending demise of the Episcopal Church (as well as the entire American Mainline Protestant movement). Admittedly, I've heard enough of those voices over the years to simply be overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation. Sometimes my reaction to those voices has been one of despair or resignation. Other times I've been angry at the despair and resignation I've seen in myself, fellow clergy or denominational leadership. But over these last few months, I've been privileged to witness what happens when a few people begin to believe that a community of faith still matters, and that such a community can be a place where the hungry are fed, the sick are healed and what was dead is restored to new life.

For these three lessons, I am exceedingly thankful. Stay tuned for the others. I promise it won't be another five months!