Easter Monday Anticipations
The light
bright spring sunrises
touch the earth,
with Anticipation.
The washing
by the Word made flesh
looks beyond sin,
with Tenderness.
The mystery
as God forsakes God
fills the heart,
with Wondering.
The reality
of resurrection
calls forth new life,
with Power.
The love
Father, Son, Spirit
made known by grace,
with Freedom.
The shift
no soul can ignore
tends the holy,
with Anticipation.
~jems
This week I have been reflecting on hope and Christ’s resurrection. Following are two quotes I have considered:
Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you show up
and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.
~Anne Lamott
The importance of the Resurrection is that it gives evidence of survival,
evidence that the human personality survives death.
~C.S. Lewis
As Easter draws near, may you and I experience anew the hope and evidence of the Resurrection! And to that end…
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
(Romans 15:13 ESV)
Easter is coming and none too soon! Lent is really quite a journey. It is longer than a month and I have felt the length of its days this year. Have you? A lot can happen during Lent. Several years ago I traveled to Spain in the middle of Lent to see my daughter. There was the joy of being with her for a week and the sorrow of saying good-bye knowing it would be months before I would see her again.
Again this year, I have traveled through lots of emotions: the joys and the sorrows of loving and letting go. Like the disciples, I journey with Jesus for a deeper understanding of who the Son of the Living God really is as He bids me over and over to remain in the land of the living even when letting go feels overwhelming. So far, this Lent has been an invitation to love Jesus more by letting go of who I say He is!
During the long days of Lent the soul waits with hope for the arrival of Easter. More than any other psalm, Psalm 130 describes this 40 day journey. Perhaps you want to read Psalm 130 in your own Bible several times, before prayerfully reading this paraphrase.
Out of the depths I cry to You!
In you Mercy, hear my voice!
May you be attentive to the
voice of supplications!
If you should number the times we
stray from You, O Beloved,
who could face You?
Yet You are ever-ready to forgive,
that we might be healed.
I wait for You, my soul waits,
for in your Love I would live;
My soul awaits the Beloved
as one awaits the birth
of a child, or
as one awaits the fulfillment
of their destiny.
O sons and daughters of the Light,
welcome the Heart of your heart!
Then you will climb the
Sacred Mountain of Truth;
You will know mercy and love
in abundance.
Then will your transgressions be
forgiven; and you will know
the Oneness of All.*
Amen and amen!
*Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness
by Nan C. Merrill
Continuum International Publishing Group
The health of our physical hearts can be determined through blood tests that measure the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as, high density and low density lipoprotein. If these are not in balance heart disease creates all kinds of issues including hardening of the arteries.
Psalm 95 encourages having a spiritually healthy heart by singing, praising and worshiping the Lord who is our great God and King. Moreover, the Psalmist warns against our hearts hardening and going a astray by not knowing and following God’s ways. From experience I am aware that my heart has less “dis-ease” and stays softer toward others when I prayerfully praise God throughout the day.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
~Psalm 95:6, 7a (ESV)
This Lent may we, who are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand, keep our hearts healthy by not straying from God who so tenderly shepherds us. Take a few moments and consider deeply what it means to be held in the good Shepherd’s hand.
Lord, we ask for the grace to love you, our good Shepherd, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor as ourselves.
Come Learn Rest Ministries 