When my oldest son was not yet two, I worked as a teacher at a small church preschool program. Each spring, an egg hunt was planned in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Generally, we all followed the same schedule, but that year one of the teachers chose to have the egg hunt after easter, wanting to wait until Lent was over and Eastertide officially began. This was one of my first interactions with Lent or the more liturgical church calendar.
I did not grow up observing Lent or Advent as I do now. In my memory, it was more about the celebration of the holidays. We didn’t hold the tension of waiting for Christ’s arrival during advent or view Lent as a season of reflection. The sorrow was there, of course; we just didn’t pay it much attention.
As I have begun to embrace the church year, my love for the seasons of Lent and Advent has grown. I consider our Service for the Longest Night and Ash Wednesday services as my two favorites of the year. I’ve made space for the sadness and the sorrow, but in the midst, I’ve forgotten how to celebrate. Perhaps I’ve let the pendulum swing too far.
So this year, I am doing my best to lean into the season of Eastertide, or The Season of Resurrection — which lasts from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. In her book Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, & Resurrection, Traci Smith offers us this: To notice resurrection in the every day is to be in tune with the greatest truth of the Christian Faith: death is not ultimately victorious. There is always hope. There is new life all around.
So how do we notice resurrection in the every day, or, as Wendell Berry puts it, practice resurrection? I’m not sure! I’m new to this season of celebration too. I’m exploring how it might look, so I don’t have any specific practices to share other than to simply notice the spring. Notice wildflowers, bees and sunsets. Notice new life and transformation. Notice resurrection.
Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime — Martin Luther
A few links for you:
If you want to further explore noticing as a spiritual practice, I recommend Barbara Brown Taylor’s: An Altar in the World.
My sister-in-law gifted us Sparrow’s Prayer for Easter, and it is so good. It makes a great gift, but this is one you’ll want on your shelves (whther or not you have kids!)
Shauna Niequist mentioned whipped ricotta in a recent email and I tried it out for Easter. I used this recipe and it was easy & tasty!
As a spiritual direction apprentice, I am taking on directees for free as I learn and grow in the practice. You can read more about my apprenticeship training hereand see my bio at the bottom of this page. This email is also a great way for people to get to know me first. If you know someone (are someone?!) who might be interested, would you send them my way? You can forward this email to them, or they can contact me at: hollyporterphillips@gmail.com