random post-easter ruminations...

Easter was a wonderfully rich time for us this even in the midst of such worldwide suffering. Not only did we feast and celebrate together with beloved family in Brooklyn, but after 10 years of intense written conversations, I had the chance to meet a dear friend in person for tea and treats. The New Testament gospel text for Easter Sunday spoke of being "perplexed, terrified, dismissed as irrelevant, and awed." As the Easter preacher reminded us: our worldview in the 21st century may be very different from lst century Palestine, but we continue to know what is means to be perplexed, terrified, and all the rest." Now we are back at home preparing for our first live gig since November 2019. I am filled with random thoughts and feelings as we settle back into our routine...

+ First, being with our family is ALWAYS soul food. That may seem trite, but as we mostly emerge on the other side of the pandemic I shall never take their presence for granted. These are days we'll never have again - times of rich feasting and conversation, times of play and music with our grandchildren, times of deep listening, love, and vulnerability - so each encounter feels like holy ground. The Easter feast after the Lenten fast was sensual in every way. And to add grace upon grace, our grandson not only sang in the Sunday Eucharist choir, but regaled us with his ukulele version of "La Vie en Rose."

+ Second, we got to meet a person I've corresponded with for over 10 years in person. Face-to-face afternoons have also become holy ground for me - and visiting the Enchanted Garden, hearing "It is Well with My Soul" and "Wayfaring Stranger" on the piano, laughing and lamenting in the same room was nourishing, delightful, and sobering. To be able to look into one another's eyes in the same room makes all the difference in the world. Not in an exaggerated way, mind you, but humbly and with gratitude.

+ Third, we beat the always anticipated but still dreaded April snow and sleet on the way home. I've never liked driving in the snow or the rain, so I give thanks that we left Brooklyn early enough to miss the mess. It is still lightly snowing as I look out on the wetlands. But I am safe and warm inside - with Lucie home from the kennel to boot! 

+ And fourth, as I give myself over to preparing for our Afghan Benefit Music and Poetry gig on April 29th, the ever-changing personnel reminds me that we can never go back to the so-called good old days again. Some of the most onerous aspects of the plague may be receeding in these parts - the NY Times reports that 75% of the Berkshires is FULLY vaccinated including little ones over 5 - but life has changed forever. I may also be making music with some of my oldest and dearest friends - and I am - but not everyone can be present for a variety of reasons and some new/old buddies have joined the parade. They will not and cannot replace artists whom I cherish and will miss in their absence, but our new members are alreadying bringing new, unexpected, and sacred gifts to the table that make this concert unique and blessed. It would be easy to give in to nostalgia, but one of the many lessons from the pandemic is that being fully present to the present is the ONLY way to live these days. So, I am genuinely excited about our new mix and can't wait to put the whole thing together in our first dress rehearsal next Wednesday. The Corrymela Community of Belfast, Ireland puts it like this:

A prayer for Easter morning:
God of unbounded joy,
God of undying love:
women went to a tomb
to tend to the crucified dead.
They came back the first preachers
of resurrection.
As we come back
from this tomb of grief
and begin to live again,
may we proclaim with unbridled joy
what the world is dying to hear:
that death is not the end;
that love remains what is most divine;
and that God continues to live
in the beating heart of our humanity.
Amen.

Last, but not at least, my Sunday afternoon "Small is Holy" reflections and Eucharist will get back on schdule this coming week @ 4 pm on April 24th. The appointed gospel text is always John 20. This yea, instead of giving the doubts of Thomas attention, however, I want to rest awhile in the first verses: 

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the religious authorities Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

I am not in Ukraine. Nor Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Myanmar, or China. I got my second booster yesterday and I am in my safe, warm bubble within the Berkshires. As others hide for their lives, scramble for food, and choose when and how to oppose the forces of darkness all around them, I will be playing music and preparing this year's garden additions. It is not at all fair or just, but it is what it is. And as the 14th century mystic, Meister Eckhart is reputed to have said, "Reality is the will of God - it can always be better - but we must start with what is real." So, I give thanks for the solitude and serenity of my days. I know that to those whom much has been given, much is required. My work, as best I am able to grasp it, has to do with forgiveness and peace-making one heart at a time. It has nothing to do with being ideologically pure or dogmatic. It is NOT about snark, shame, or judgement, just discerning and strengthening our common ground. Period. End of story. Mic drop.