Good morning…
The timing was perfect. We met on August 31st, softly celebrating the end before a new beginning.
We began by reading a short Scripture.
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said” (Matthew 28:1-6a, NRSV).
Words lingered with us. Do not be afraid. He is not here. He has been raised.
Then we read aloud a poem, a poem that touched our souls.
******
Risen by Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
If you are looking
for a blessing,
do not linger
here.
Here
is only
emptiness,
a hollow,
a husk
where a blessing
used to be.
This blessing
was not content
in its confinement.
It could not abide
its isolation,
the unrelenting silence,
the pressing stench
of death.
So if it is
a blessing
you seek,
open your own
mouth.
Fill your lungs
with the air
this new
morning brings
and then
release it
with a cry.
Hear how the blessing
breaks forth
in your own voice,
how your own lips
form every word
you never dreamed
to say.
See how the blessing
circles back again,
wanting you to
repeat it,
but louder,
how it draws you,
pulls you,
sends you
to proclaim
its only word:
Risen.
Risen.
Risen.
******
If you are looking for a blessing, do not linger in the summer. Isolation. Silence. Stench of death. Summer is only emptiness, a hollow, a husk where a blessing used to be.
So if it is a blessing you seek, open your own mouth. Fill your lungs with autumn air, releasing a newborn cry. Through the ashes of August, September 1st quietly circles back again.
Risen.
Risen.
Risen.
How do you sense the Spirit drawing you, pulling you, sending you to proclaim with your own voice the fresh blessing of this fall?
…Sue…
