Episode 21 - Easter/Lent

Episode 21 - Easter/Lent

Consider the cross. 

• Communion & fasting
• The great exchange

It hardly seems possible, but Lent is here. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas. Easter comes very early this year. This year Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day, which last happened in 2018 and will occur again in 2029, making it seem somewhat common. But that actually isn’t the case, as it won’t happen again until 2096. Many of us will have experienced the Lent/Valentine's Day clash three times in 11 years and then never again.

Life can be like that, the common becomes rare, and the rare can become common. What we have become accustomed to can be stripped away in an instant, and rare occurrences can stack together in a short span, changing and destabilizing our norm. Sometimes the blessings flow, and sometimes the tragedies stack. Thus the old saying tragedies come in threes. I am not so sure about the “threes” part but I do know that often, when it rains, it pours.

When we pay attention to occurrences like this, they can remind us of the fragility of “norm” or what Fr. Rohr and others would call “order”. Change is inevitable, and honoring change can help us on our journey. It can help us hold our constructs, routines, habits, and comforts loosely so we can live into change and be supple. It can help us be present in the current moment as we know it is the only moment we ever really have, and there may never be a moment like this one. It is best we cherish and savor it because nothing is guaranteed. It can help us to weather the storm, knowing that every storm passes, as George Harrison used to say and sing, “This too shall pass”. It helps us to be open to the new and whatever God is up to. God is always doing new things.

Our brains are wired for patterns and order. I am sure my kids will expect Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day to link up every 4 or 5 years, though they will be in their 80’s before they will ever see it again. Lent is an opportunity to do some rewiring. To let go of unskillful, unloving, or death-dealing habits. To shake up the norm and make space for what God is doing in you or around you. To let go of our white knuckle grip on life as we would have it and open to life as it is in this moment. To surrender to God our need for control and show up to the Divine love with our grief, joy, confusion, inspiration, or whatever it is you are feeling or holding right now. God is ready and willing to share in that with you.

You are not alone. Like Jesus headed out to the desert to begin his Lenten journey, you are accompanied by the love that persists and never leaves. May you know that you are known by a loving and tender God. And may you discover what is yours to let go of and what is yours to embrace in this “wild and precious life” (Mary Oliver, The Summer Day).

 

Easter is one of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity. It marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion. For many Christian churches, Easter is the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence (a feeling of regret). The earliest recorded observance of Easter comes from the 2nd century, though it is likely that even the earliest Christians commemorated the Resurrection, which is an integral tenet of the faith.

Why is Easter celebrated?

Easter is celebrated by Christians as a joyous holiday because it represents the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the revelation of God’s salvific plan for all of humankind. In commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus, Easter also celebrates the defeat of death and the hope of salvation. Christian tradition holds that the sins of humanity were paid for by the death of Jesus and that his Resurrection represents the anticipation believers can have in their own resurrection.

When is Easter?

In 325 the Council of Nicaea decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian calendar

What is the Easter Bunny tradition?

• The Easter hare (called "Oschter Haws" in German) was said to have left colorful eggs for good children around Easter. Children would sometimes prepare "nests" for the eggs and leave carrots for the hare. German immigrants are believed to have brought the Easter Bunny tradition to the United States around the 1700s

The exact origins of the Easter bunny are clouded in mystery. One theory is that the symbol of the rabbit stems from pagan tradition, specifically the festival of Eostre—a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny. Rabbits, known for their energetic breeding, have traditionally symbolized fertility.

 

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For more information about the hosts, please visit their websites and follow them on social media:

Dr. Glenda Shepard - Doctor of Nursing Practice/Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner/Certified Nutrition Coach/Certified Personal Trainer/Certified Intrinsic Coach

https://www.triumphantwomancoaching.com/

FB - https://www.facebook.com/glenda.shepard1

 

Robin McCoy - Certified McIntyre Seal Team Six Coach and John Maxwell Team Trainer/Speaker/Coach

https://www.thewellnessfactor.coach/

IG - https://www.instagram.com/RobinRMcCoy

FB - https://www.facebook.com/robin.mccoy1

 

Produced by KB Podcasts

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