Christ is Risen! The Clergy are Dead!! So goes the tongue in cheek phrase to which most clergy can relate. Holy Week is a glorious week, a long week…and a hard week. There’s services to plan, bulletins to check, props to gather, homilies to write, prayers to say, visits to make, so many things that must be done in order for worship to come together…and yet, every year it does.
Yesterday was Easter Sunday. A completely stranger walked in off the street for our first service and worshipped with us. He exchanged handshakes with everyone when service was over, nodded to me and replied “Happy Easter” when I wished him “Happy Easter” and went back out into his day.
Our second service was joyous and vibrant and while many of our regular parishioners were not in attendance, it was a glorious celebration! I have a beautiful rainbow tie dye dress that I bought last summer and I decided to wear that on Easter Day. After worship and coffee hour I went to the grocery store and had some lunch. Then I walked to the Nursing Home for another service. It’s a lovely walk there and I carried a basket with palm crosses, white stones, my cell phone and house keys. Along the way I waved to every car I saw and said “Happy Easter” to everyone I met.
Most waved back or exchanged the greeting. One little boy asked if I was the Easter Bunny. I told him I wasn’t but I was delighted he thought I could be. I asked his parents if I could ask him for a hug. His Mum asked if he wanted to hug me and he did. It was precious.
Along the way there I met three sets of dogs and with permission, I got to pet all of them! It was a highlight. Especially a huge black lab/shepherd who was a strong leaner and gave me kisses.
I got to the Nursing Home and chatted with a couple of guys who don’t come to worship but like to sit outside the room and hear the preaching and singing. One of them told me I look like an Easter egg…which made me smile. We had a huge turn out of residents and we sang out hearts out. I brought palm crosses to remind them of the journey of Holy Week and white stones to remind them that even in our brokenness we are children of God, created in love and created to live in love.
On the way home I saw more dogs and chatted with a man who had been cleaning his lawn up from the winter gravel. We talked about the joys of working “only one day a week” and laughed at how quickly the community changes when ski season is over. I pet his dog on the way to the Nursing Home and again on the way home.
When I got home I called a friend and went to visit her. We watched the video of her dad’s funeral service and then went to the cemetery to pray together with him. The gates for the cemetery were locked, much to our annoyance. We walked in to where the grave is and sat at a rock for awhile. There was laughter and some tears and then I dropped her off at home.
I came home, got changed and made a simple supper. Then I relaxed, chatted with a friend online and thought about how incredibly blessed I am to live in this corner of God’s creation. Everywhere I walked yesterday I could see mountains. Yes, I was a walking billboard, but I have noticed quite often that when I walk and smile at folks they either smile back or are already smiling.
God is very much alive in this place. And even though our Easter Day service wasn’t bursting at the seams, we gathered and shared Alleluias, thoughts about the Easter Bunny, why church bells have to ring so long…and how very blessed we are with the gift of Jesus. We gathered and shared in Communion. We exchanged the peace together in ways we have for quite some time…and yet there was something different in the air…something innately hopeful and hope filled.
Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia!