May 27th, 2020

Wednesday Words       Easter 7         5-27-20

Psalm 101       Psalm 109: 1 – 30        Isaiah 4: 2 – 6        Ephesians 4: 1 – 16

Psalms 119: 121 – 144      Matthew 8: 28 – 34           BCP page 965 top

Celebrate the Day!

This is certainly the week for celebrations.  Monday was Memorial Day and we remembered our family members and friends who served this country with honor in peace and war times.  Monday was also the last day of Ramadan for our Moslem brothers and sisters.  Tuesday Kent and I celebrated 30 years of marriage and Mike and Amanda celebrated 19 years.  Today – Wednesday is the beginning of Shavuot for our Jewish brothers and sisters.  Sunday we as Christians will celebrate Pentecost.

Just in case you did not know – I certainly did not – the Jewish Festival of Shavuot occurs 49 days after the 2nd day of Passover.  Passover remembers the release of the Jews from slavery in Egypt and the beginning of their journey to the land God promised to Abraham for the building of a great nation.  The second day of Passover begins the 49-day countdown to Shavuot – 49 days of anticipation of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai to Moses for the people.  As Advent counts down to the birth of the Baby Jesus, Shavuot counts down the days in anticipation of the great gift of the Torah.

One thing among all the religions that I know about is this urge, this command to celebrate the important events that ground the faith.  We as Christians learned much from our roots in Jewish rituals and practices.  These are the festivals that Jesus grew up celebrating with Mary and Joseph in the Nazareth community – festivals that honored Jesus’s Father God, the creator of all things.

What actually is a celebration?  It is a time to remember, of course.  To remember an event that changed things – the day a new baby comes into a family, the day that freedom begins, the day that our future bends in a new direction.  A celebration is a time to enjoy the present moment – what has been achieved, where we are and what we now enjoy and treasure.  A celebration also looks to the future.  We think about how we can carry forward what was, what is so that what will be is blessed and joyful.

In all the news about high school graduations – virtual, drive-by and driveway – I thought back to my own graduation night.  We were to have the ceremony in the football stadium, and we got rained out.  I remember the long walk around the track as a light mist turned into a light sprinkle.  Sitting on a metal chair as a light sprinkle became a generous drizzle – cold rain down my back, down my legs into my shoes.  The generous drizzle became a healthy shower, and all our caps began to droop around the edges, the tassels dripping orange and green water.  Then the bottom fell out.  There was so much water in my shoes that my feet were floating!  Obviously, not the night any of us had planned!  But.  The next day I did get my diploma – we all did.  And now we laugh about it.  We share a unique experience among the many classes my high school has sent out into the world. 

I learned 2 things that night.  Not everything that seems important right this minute is important.  The second thing is whatever happens today, tomorrow starts a new page.  A diploma received without ceremony is still a diploma received.  The next morning, I was indeed a graduate and a new journey through college was beginning. 

Ephesians is among the readings for today.  Beginning the 4th chapter, St. Paul writes

          I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the

calling to which you have been called…one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God and Father of all…

We are living in a time of anxiety and separation, of political yelling and name-calling, of fear for ourselves and those we love.  Days in solitude that should offer us rest and renewal have become days alone, draining us of energy and purpose.  I find myself looking at a simple pile of laundry and thinking: so what?  I will be here tomorrow and so will it.  Who cares? 

We are called for more than that.  We are called to remember that God came looking for us, that God gave Jesus to us and for us.  We are called to remember Easter and to live into the faith of the living God today and every day.  The real celebration is our praise and thanksgiving, our cries of sorrow and need, our listening to the voice of God today.  This day. And tomorrow.  And the day after that.  Each day an Easter Day in love and service to the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.