Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen indeed!

Lent has been banished for now - and death does not have the last word!

It was good to celebrate in my "home church" today by leading in music.  The service was just right.  Then time was spent with the dogs at agility, and then dinner with family.  A breath from the stress of life - thanks be to God!

Thank you to those who followed me during my lenten journey on this blog.  I have not yet decided if I will keep this up on any regular basis or not - or if I will change the name of the blog if I do.  But for your presence, thank you.

Christ is Risen!  Alleluia.  Amen.

Friday...but is it Good?

Today is Good Friday...and it's shown it's presence in very loud and outrageous ways.

Snow on the coast...horrible wind and rain storms inland...news of a loved one's loss...and news that my nephew has been sentenced to 42 months in prison.  

Even the heavens are weeping with all of the Good Friday stuff happening.

I played for a Tennebrae service at my home church tonight.  It felt good to release the pain thru my fingers and out the piano.  Was it perfect?  No.  Was it good?  Yes.

I don't remember the last time I had such a strong connection with this day on the calendar...I don't remember the last time I felt this kind of pain on a Good Friday...and now I'm waiting for Easter morning.  But this Easter morning won't bring everything I need to feel the joy I want to feel.

So, I'll sit in this moment...I'll pray...I'll meditate...I'll consider things...knowing that throughout all of life, there are plenty of Good Fridays.  And Easter will come...just not quite yet...

Gathering for Supper...

I have many fond memories from my childhood of gathering together with members of my family around the dinner table.  We would feast on simple home-cooked feasts.

There would be laughter, teasing, reacting - a competition for mashed potatoes.  And then the delightful sigh from a full belly.

On the anniversary of this holy supper, at the celebration of Maundy Thursday, I can't help but think what it must have been like for the disciples to gather together to celebrate the last supper.  Perhaps, intermittent, there was a bit of laughter, some sharing, some familial times - before everything grew quiet and the night took on a very serious nature.

It is in this gathering to share in the Lord's supper that we discover that we are part of a larger family.  And if we can be honest with ourselves in that holy moment, we can look around the table and see true sisters and brothers gathered with us - those who annoy us, those who make us laugh - and we all somehow are satisfied as we walk away having received tiny proportions of food and wine.  

If we can see "family" in this meal, we can see our own humanness and our need for forgiveness being poured out for us in wine and bread, blood and body, the essence of our Christ.  

This night starts out with joy and ends with a somber tone.  Sometimes life has those moments.  May God infuse us with a joy that knows no end, even as the disappointments, greed and desperation sometimes overtake us.

It is nearly finished...

Lent, that is.  And in many ways, I am so glad.  But before it leaves, it gears up for a few days of intense moments - remembering the last supper, reliving the suffering and death of our Lord, and then the time of prayer and waiting before the Easter sunrise.

I have been imperfect during this lenten season in my commitment to daily blogging.  Still, I am grateful for the opportunity to blog and to have friends on the journey with me at the times they've been able to join along.

Today I am remembering how important it is to hold onto faith - to keep believing when life is overwhelming.  In this week I have been reminded just how much I need someone bigger than myself to believe in, in whom to put my trust.

Thank you God for another day of living, breathing, trusting, hoping, remembering.