Resurrection Stories

Resurrection Stories

Easter Banner Trinity Cathedral

“Our memory of Jesus’ resurrection fails us if we understand it only as a miracle. Jesus’ resurrection was indeed a miracle; however, it needs to be more than a miracle. It needs to be normal … every day … how we live and breathe: with resurrection power.”—Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE, from “Brother, Give Us a Word,” a daily email sent to friends and followers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE.org). 

This is at the heart of spiritual direction, encouraging spiritual friends to see daily and yearly resurrections in their lives amid the daily Good Fridays that present themselves. It often takes more than three days to become aware of these resurrections. However, as we become more conscious of them, we become more open to trust and a little more patient, trusting that there will be a resurrection from each new darkness we face. 

My experience is that I most often draw closer to God and spend more time with God in the darkness. On the dark Good Fridays of my life, I learn about surrender, “re-turning” my life and my will over to God. We learn to look for a tiny light in the darkness to lead us through it to a new, resurrected life.

A close family member or friend dies. We learn about the sacredness of life and spend more time living in the present with gratitude for each day. We learn to honor and be grateful for our relationship by extending to others the love and kindness we knew in that relationship.

Our children act out. We recognize our role in it and try to change our relationship with them.

Our job becomes increasingly difficult. But then we finally leave it, or maybe even get fired. After much time, we find a job that is our bliss.

 A medical illness slows us down. We seek a more meaningful life by living at a slower pace, a day at a time.

We are caught in our addiction and lose our job. We change our whole lifestyle and outlook to live without the addiction.

Someone has harmed us mentally, physically, or spiritually. Over time, we realize that unless we can forgive and move on, that person continues to hurt us. We then slowly learn to practice daily forgiveness for the small hurts we feel each day.

Miracles become ordinary. We see God at work in our lives. Resurrection.

A gift of the past pandemic was slowing down our lives and living in the present moment. Slowing down is one of the best ways to see ordinary miracles. This is resurrection.

Today, our prayers are also for those whose lives cannot slow down, especially our healthcare workers and first responders.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

 




 

Loaves and Fishes: Ministry Multiplying

Loaves and Fishes, Free Read

“Young people say, “What can one person do? What is the point of our small effort?” They cannot see that we can only lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the one action in the present moment.”

But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts to vitalize and transform these actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes. – Dorothy Day, The Catholic Worker, September 1957

I often hear from friends that they want to give up their ministry. The need feels overwhelming, and they cannot imagine how their small part can make any difference. My experience is that God calls us to bloom where we are planted, to help and make changes right where we are, and to let God take over the rest.

This 20th-century social activist reminds us of something else we should remember. We do what God calls us to do, and God will multiply the works we have done, just as with the loaves and fishes. How exciting that the story of the multiplying loaves and fishes did not happen only in Jesus’ time. It happens every day, every hour we do ministry.

I am thinking of one friend, Tandy Cobb, who felt called to send books to women in prison during the pandemic’s scariest period. Tandy is a retired, much-beloved high school English teacher who still wanted to share her love of reading with others and felt called to women’s prison ministry. She presented her idea to our Daughters of the King (DOK) and then to the congregation at Saint Mark’s. As a result, 23 St. Mark’s parishioners joined the ministry, including 16 DOK members.

The books go directly to inmates who have requested them and are not returned. One group contacted other individuals and bookstores for paperbacks. The Boy Scouts helped move the books and gave up part of their scout hut to store them. Donations of money and paperbacks came in. Members of the group met with Tandy three days each month to fill orders from the women in prison. 

Then the chaplain at the prison asked the group, now called Free Read, to send books to the men’s prison as well. Soon, they filled an order for 648 books from 324 men and women. Sheila and Carly, two other team members, delivered the two carloads of books to the prison.

The notes inmates write on their book request forms show that Free Read is a program that matters to them. They received letters saying they would leave prison before the last shipment of books they ordered, but could the books be sent to their home address? Most notes express gratitude, but they also offer glimpses into their lives. One man asked them to pray for his release. 

One lady asked for a large-print Bible for her bunk-mate, who is almost blind. Another Free Read regular wrote that she has no family to visit her, so she looks forward to receiving books each month. Recently, Mary wrote, “Thank you for the wonderful books. We so enjoy sharing them. So many special friendships are formed. We learn a lot about one another. God bless you.”

Then it became harder to send books to prisoners, but Free Read did not give up. They now send books to those in a local jail, a halfway house, and a homeless shelter for families called Our House.

The group at Saint Mark’s repeatedly says that this ministry blesses them.

Some might believe God is still in “the business of multiplying the loaves and fishes.”

Joanna joannaseibert.com  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

 

 

Lessons from the Great Fifty Days of Easter

Lessons from the Great Fifty Days of Easter

Langley at Grace Church in NYC with an Easter Parade

"I looked and saw a nurse, dressed all in white, standing by a bed in the makeshift ICU. "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" she asked, pulling back the curtain to reveal an empty bed. Confused, I turned and walked outside, leaving the hospital as if it were a tomb, and stepped into the streets." 

There were hundreds of people there, laughing and talking, strolling hand in hand, children playing in the parks, and hugging one another as they met on busy sidewalks. The shops were full. The streets were full. The city was overflowing with the sounds of life, joyous and unending, beneath a clear, sunny sky. I stood transfixed. Then I remembered: it was Easter Day!—Steven Charleston's Facebook Page, Easter 2020.

In case you did not see Bishop Charleston's previous Easter Facebook Page, here it is! He tells us what the resurrection of our state, country, and world will look like. He constantly reminds us to look fear in the eye and shows us what hope looks like. Reread the resurrection stories of Jesus. So often, he says, "Fear not. Do not be afraid; Peace be with you." 

Not being afraid means knowing that God is beside us and cares for us. God walks beside us today so that we, again this year, can bring the joy of Easter out of our churches. The Easter Parade is a reminder of a movement into our streets, shops, and workplaces to share the good news.

Customs and traditions can also help us remember God's love as God walks with us, especially during a joyous holiday such as Easter. My granddaughter Zoe and I have a custom of watching the movie Easter Parade on Holy Saturday. Later, on an Easter Day after lunch, I watched Easter Parade with our oldest granddaughter, Langley, who had never seen it. That night, she showed me pictures of that day's Easter Parade in New York City. It was very different from the past, but still joyous. 

Last Easter, Langley, who is now in school in New York, sent us a picture of the Easter parade at her church in the city. A tradition celebrated even when we are apart.

We need traditions to remind us of life and love from the past. We also live in the present and carry traditions forward to keep remembering. Customs can be as simple as watching a movie with people you love. Traditions help us remember a time of God's love and promise. Sometimes, we can enjoy the experience even more in our memories.

The joy of the great fifty days of Easter is an ideal time to celebrate family traditions and memories of love.