April 21, 2025

 

Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! The Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ with glorious music, stirring sermons, Easter egg hunts, and the ancient tale of that first Easter morning that turned the world upside down told again with conviction, joy, and hope! Christ is Risen!

 

I found myself drawn to this poem by Jan Richardson on this Easter. In all the places where you encounter death in these grim and broken days for our world, may you, too, remember how it sounded (sounds) when you stood (stand) in the place of death and heard – still hear – the living Christ call your name and summon you to take courage, grace, and joy.

 

THE MAGDALENE’S BLESSING

For Easter Day

You hardly imagined

standing here,

everything you ever loved

suddenly returned to you,

looking you in the eye

and calling your name.

And now

you do not know

how to abide this hole

in the center

of your chest,

where a door

slams shut

and swings open

at the same time,

turning on the hinge

of your aching

and hopeful heart.

I tell you,

this is not a banishment

from the garden.

This is an invitation,

a choice,

a threshold,

a gate.

This is your life

calling to you

from a place

you could never

have dreamed,

but now that you

have glimpsed its edge,

you cannot imagine

choosing any other way.

So let the tears come

as anointing,

as consecration,

and then

let them go.

Let this blessing

gather itself around you.

Let it give you

what you will need

for this journey.

You will not remember

the words—

they do not matter.

All you need to remember

is how it sounded

when you stood

in the place of death

and heard the living

call your name.

—Jan Richardson

from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

 

As ever in prayer,

 

Sue