Easter Joy is Transforming

Thanks to a dear friend I have a wonderful little reflection book for the season of Easter. On Monday of this Easter Week the reflection said:

The crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus teaches that in Jesus Christ, human existence is not just continued, it is transformed. This human existence can be transformed into something magnificent, something that eye has not seen and ear has not heard. By his dying on the cross and his rising to a transformed human life, Jesus has opened the door for me.

That hit home for me as my Lenten reflections were all about transformation and the journey of being transformed and being open to that gift. It is not always easy to embrace transformation. It is not always easy to claim the light that is ours. It is not always easy to walk through the door opened for us by Christ. However the Resurrection is the gift that allows us to grow in awareness of transformation, to be light bearers and to walk through that door. 

Our world so often says we are not good enough, strong enough, bright enough… as people of the Resurrection we have to say enough of NOT being enough and focus on the fact that we ARE enough because of the way, the truth and the life that is given us in baptism. The transformed life of Christ calls us to be people of transformation, light and openness. It is in claiming these attributes that we radiate Christ into the world. We are enough because we are loved by God, loved enough that he sent his only Son and he died and rose for us!

As we continue this Easter time let us ponder…

How have we been transformed? And what part of life still needs to be transformed? 

Are we willing to let it be touched by the transformed life of the Risen Lord?

How do we share light with others? Do we let the light of Christ shine through us? 

Where can we bear light this week?

How do we walk through the door opened by Christ? How do we open it for others? 

How do we remain open to the gifts that come from this open door?

The Joy of the Resurrection

Even when I feel tired,

even when I feel beaten down,

even when I feel uncertain,

the joy of the Resurrection is stronger.

Even when things go wrong,

even when things overwhelm me,

even when things leave me questioning,

the joy of the Resurrection is stronger.

Even when I am sad,

even when I am lonely,

even when I am frustrated,

the joy of the Resurrection is stronger.

Even when time slips away,

even when time drags on,

even when time pushes and pulls,

the joy of the Resurrection is stronger.

Stronger because the Resurrection

is transformation,

is life,

is peace,

is hope,

is beyond time.

The Resurrection is the joy

that infuses our journey

and sustains us

when the reality of the world

is ours to bear

because the joy of the Resurrection

is life transformed.

Easter is our annual reminder of this transformation... it is so powerful that one Season cannot contain it and so every Sunday we too are nourished by the transformed life of Christ. See how much our God loves us!

May we continue to be open to Easter transformation, be brave light bearers and courageous when walking through the open door of the Resurrection.

We are Transformed by Easter Hope

On this night/day as the world prepares for slumber/work,

or gets caught up in the latest episode of whatever,

or is taken in by the passing Stanley cup fever,

we Christians gather to pray,

to move from darkness to light,

to come to the tomb only to find it empty.

We gather with our sorrow and pains,

we gather with our hurts and fears,

we gather with our trials and hardships,

bringing them all with us

but knowing that no matter what we bring with us,

no matter how heavy the burden or light the load

we know that we have hope for our Redeemer Lives!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Henri Nouwen once wrote:

“Hope means to keep living amid the desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Hoping is knowing that there is love, it is trust in tomorrow, it is falling asleep and waking again when the sun rises. In the midst of the gale at sea, 

it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see that you are understood. 

As long as there is still hope there will also be prayer. 

And you will be held in God’s hands.”

This is the truth behind Easter. This is the promise of the Risen Lord. This is what we celebrate… that hope and love and life always win over darkness, fear and death. Our hope maybe begin as faint humming but will turn to full out singing when we remember and encounter that Christ is Risen and among us. Ah huh… there it is… “among us”… that hope that was promised to us when we he was born… Emmanuel… God With Us! It is through his cross, death and resurrection that he indeed is among us always, even when we doubt or don’t believe… he never leaves us today, tomorrow, asleep or awake, in the storms of life, in our prayers…never because we are always held in God's hands; God's crucified hands; God's hands of love. This is a beautiful gift and this is the hope that I continue to discover in my life and the hope that is anchored in my depths. It is one that I pray each of us can hold on to and let it fashion us to be hope-bearers, light-bearers, Christ-bearers for our hurting, scary, struggling world. We must live knowing that Emmanuel was born for all and that He is the One who lived among us and continues to be with us today and always until the end of time!

This is Easter my friends… this is the joy of Easter… this is God laughing in the face of the devil and evil and every sin that tries to steal us from the gift of God’s mercy. This is God laughing with great joy and saying, “I don’t think so Satan, these ones and those ones, and even the ones who won’t darken a door of church this Easter, or those lost in the latest fad or those who cheer louder for their hockey team then for my son, all of them… Jesus, my Son, died for all of them… because we love them more than anything and they are created good and holy and because they are created in my image they are mine! And just when you think you had won and had it all, there in that moment.., at his tomb… my love was so strong… and my son, my only Son, my beloved Son… 

he lives… He lives… He Lives 

and his Spirit is among all my people… so with great joy I laugh in the face of your darkness for “Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15.55-57) NOWHERE… for the victory (the hope and the love) is in Christ Jesus Risen!” :) 

And so let Alleluia be our song 

for it is…

A song of hope!

A song of victory!

A song of promise!

A song of praise!

A song that reminds us that 

Christ is Risen,

He has trampled death 

and he is with us always!

Alleluia reminds us that we have been transformed by the cross of Christ and that his wounds have set us free. We have been transformed because we have been redeemed 

and we walk in the light of our Risen Lord!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

He Lives!

Easter Blessings!

Holy Week: The Call of Transformation

Holy Week is about transformation for it calls us to journey deeper, to encounter Christ, to witness God’s love and to discover truths about ourselves and our journey of faith. As we enter into this week each day demands of us an awareness of transformation.

“Look your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey…” 

– Matthew 21.5

Palm Sunday 

calls us to look at what we need to let go of to be transformed.

Do we just shout Hosanna or are we willing to pick up the cross?

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust. 

– Psalm 71.5

The quiet days of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week are simply that, 

a reminder of quiet and reflection needed in our lives.

Are we quiet enough to hear how God is inviting and calling us to be opened and transformed?

“This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 

– 1 Corinthians 11.24

Holy Thursday 

reminds us that we are all family, we are called to the Table of Life and 

we are called to serve.

Who do we invite to our daily table? Do we help others to be nourished?

Do we take the time to appreciate the gift it is to receive the Bread of Life?

Where do we ‘wash the feet’ of our family and neighbors?

Christ became obedient for us to death, even death on a cross. 

– Philippians 2.8

Good Friday. 

The transforming cross is placed before us.

Can we gaze on it and place all our worries and fears, hopes and dreams at it?

Do we trust that through the cross we are transformed and brought 

to the fullest of life?

Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her, 

ablaze with light from her eternal King,

let all corners of the earth be glad, 

knowing an end to gloom and darkness. 

– Easter Exsultet

Holy Saturday. 

This two-fold day…

we begin at the tomb with the stone rolled across

we end leaving the tomb for the stone has been rolled away.

This is the night of nights, this is truly about transformation 

from darkness to light, emptiness to fullness, 

broken to whole, death to life.

Where in our lives have we recently experienced darkness to light, death to life?

Have we let this transformation touch us and how we live our lives?

O Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; 

his steadfast love endures forever. 

This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice and be glad. 

– Psalm 118.1, 24

Easter Sunday.

New Life – Redeemed, Freedom, Transformed

Indeed let us rejoice! Let us give thanks to our God for the gift of new life which is life transformed by the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that we are claimed for life eternal by our God.

How can we help others experience new life?

Where in our own journey do we need to experience the transformation new life offers?

How will we live as Easter people this year?

As we journey into this week of weeks, 

may we be open to the gift of transformation 

that it offers to us.

Blessings on your journey.

Life Transformed

Arise!

my friend and live.

Arise!

for God lives in you.

Arise!

and show forth God’s glory.

Arise!

be a witness of life.

Arise!

celebrate God’s mercy and love.

Arise!

be free of all that binds you.

Arise!

to embrace goodness and healing.

Arise!

and know the bond of friendship.

Arise!

to walk in the hope of the resurrection.

Arise!

to taste life everlasting.

Arise!

and know I love you.

Arise!

for I AM the way, the truth and the life.

Arise!

for you live in me and I live in you.

Arise!

Life of Jesus Mafa was an initiative undertaken in the 1970s to help teach the gospel in Northern Cameroon

Lord Jesus,

like Lazarus you call us to life each day

and free us from the bonds of death.

As we continue our earthly pilgrimage

we trust in your ways, walk in your light and

are assured of the promise of everlasting life.

We pray for courage, strength, joy and hope

to arise and live as the Child of God we are:

transformed by love, transformed by life,

being open to the gift of hope and freedom

because you are the Resurrection and the Life.

When our time comes to face death,

may we trust in your embrace and

may we know your love surrounds us

welcoming us to a life that is beyond

anything we have known here.

Amen.

The gospel for the 5^th Sunday of Lent is the story of Jesus of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus called forth his friend from the grave… “Lazarus come out!” he was calling him to a new reality, to a life transformed, to the power of life. He was saying arise because life is more powerful than death.

As I reflected on this gospel I was awakened to the gifts that life calls us to and how Christ unbinds us and sets us free so that we may arise from the traps that the world calls life. May the story of Lazarus allow for us to reflect on our own lives and relationships and call us forth from the tombs we create for ourselves. May we arise to the gift of life that we have here as we keep our eyes on the gift of everlasting life. May we give thanks for the relationships that call us to life and that allow us to be free. May we be challenged to bring life to those, which like Lazarus, are bonded and need us to guide them to life set free – to life anew. May we have the courage to arise transformed and open to God continually working in our life. May we have the courage to step trustingly into the light when we here Jesus call to us… “Come Out!” This is truly life… this is the gift of a life transformed.

Here is to life and the blessings of this Lenten week.

Transforming Love

The story of Jesus giving the blind man sight is indeed an encounter of transformation. Through the gift of God’s love Christ gives sight to the blind. As I read and heard this gospel story this weekend I was reminded of a reflection I wrote in my journal earlier this week. The blind man gaining sight struck me as a powerful sign of God’s transforming love and spoke to me of my encounter of that same love.

The kingdom of God is the fullness of love alive and equal among all people and creation. God’s love is always present, always available, always free, always grace-filled and always merciful.

In a conversation about prayer this week someone said to me “who you love and who loves you.” My first thought was God. I smiled and had this moment of peace, similar to when a surge runs through the heart upon hearing something it needs. This surge was more of a profound opening it was like a piece of my heart that needed to be awakened was and yet my heart already knows this truth. There is depth in this reality/truth.

Who I love is God.

My amazing God who gives me life and calls me to life and fills me with endless opportunities, skills, talents and blessings. Who has created all things, is present in creation and in the depths of my heart. Who is my hope, my constant, my strength and my all (and I discover this more and more).

God who is the creativity that runs through me, the actions that I use build his kingdom and my very breath.

God who guides my path, leads me in ways that are everlasting and fills my life with amazing people who help point the way.

God who inspires me with ways to live the gospel, to be present, build community, celebrate love, seek forgiveness, be light, grow, dream and be open.

God who loves me so much that He blessed me with his Son Jesus who is not only my savior, but also my brother and friend.

Jesus who knows my journey, walks with me always until the end of time and who willingly gave his all for me so I may know love, share love and be love (even when I forget how or struggle to share it/live it).

Jesus who shines his light into my darkness and calls me beyond it, who stirs in me -  life and breath and ways to live like him, for him and invite others to do the same.

Jesus who is my core, who is that light at my center which will never be extinguished. He who calls me to radiate (and is the reason why I do), he who is my all and awakens in me the desire to be an open vessel, a living icon, a living tabernacle.

Jesus, who is my way, my truth, my life and who gifted me with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit who moves and lives and has his being in me. The Spirit who awakens me even more to God’s love. The Spirit who calls me at the depths of my being and soul and sends me forth armed with hope and love to be a witness.

The Spirit who works in ways both great and small. Who peels back the layers that I allow to be put on. The Spirit who calls me to openness, to be a vessel where God pours life in and I in turn am transformed and pour God into my world, not to be emptied but rather to be filled again and again.

The Spirit who is life, breath and freedom. Who in moments that I feel unequipped or empty reminds me that Christ is ever present and God is love and these gifts are mine and free. The Spirit who in freedom calls me to fullness, to trust, to depth, beyond the false realities and in to life, in to being embraced by and transformed by love.

I am loved so very much and I love God so very much. The love God has for me is shown over and over again in my journey. The love I have for my God is my very life – lived for God by sharing it with others, trusting in God’s divine plan for me and being open to this gift.

God, my Loving Father,

Jesus my Savior and Brother,

Holy Spirit my Breath and Life,

God your love pierces 

every part of my life 

and who I am,

I love you. I thank you.

Amen.

Who do you love?

Who loves you?

I hope you can see through the journey, people and circumstances of life that the answer to those two questions is God and know how much God loves you.

May we continued to be brought to the light of God’s love and be aware that we are no longer blind but awakened to love.

Transformative Relationships

As we move towards the middle of Lent, transformation continues to be part of the journey. The Gospel for the 3^rd Sunday of Lent is that of the encounter at well of the Samaritan Woman and Jesus. Now this is a story about transformation. The Samaritan Woman is changed after her encounter with Jesus and because of the change in her life she leads others to change in their lives (encountering Christ).

Over the course of this past week relationships have been the undercurrent of what feels like everything. I know that is not revelatory news as we are social beings we are always involved in relationships. However it feels like my thoughts, prayers, ministry, work and so on have all had this hinting of “what about?”

What about this relationship is it healthy and good?

What about this relationship does it need healing?

What about this relationship is it empty?

What about this relationship does it need to deepen?

What about this relationship for this person has impacted my life?

And so on…

I guess I have been evaluating my relationships. The good, the not so good, the struggling, the hurting, the hopes, the worries, the “what abouts?” It has caused me to ponder the people who fill my life for moments, seasons, years, or lifetime. It has caused me to ponder how I have encountered Christ in relationships and how I offer Christ in relationships. My heart is full and yet there is an aching. My heart is at peace and yet there is a longing. My heart is nurtured yet if feels so vulnerable.

This gets me back to the Samaritan woman. She too was questioning Jesus and in conversation with him. She too was asking the “what abouts” and the “what ifs”. She too had a fullness and yet an aching, a peace yet a longing, a nurtured yet a vulnerable heart. Jesus saw that and offered her life-giving water and she accepted. Jesus said to her “I am he” and she came to know a true fullness, a true peace, a truly nurtured heart.

Now this leads me back to my “what about” questions. I need to reflect on Christ present in my relationships and how I receive his life-giving water from others and how I offer it to others. In the words of St. Teresa of Avila – “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet, no eyes, no ears but yours.” How can I be the hands and feet, the eyes and ears of Christ in my relationships? I am open to those who offer Christ to me?

Relationships are always transformational. I am grateful for so many for so many reasons. I am most grateful for a relationship with Jesus Christ for my life is constantly being transformed – whether I am ready for it or not and to that I say Jesus I Trust in You.

Jesus – Life-Giving Water and Cup of Life

As I try to pour out my life

You are my strength,

You sustain me and nourish me.

In the moments when

I feel I can’t hold the cup

You gently come and raise it up.

In the moments when

I can raise the cup

Your reflection is seen and

I am called to be open and

To be a vessel for You to be held in.

Amen.

Transfigured and Transformed - Follow Up

One of the readers of this blog has asked me to provide some insight into a few of my reflections in my latest post. So I thought I would make an addendum to my previous post to address the question that has been raised.

The reader states:  You wrote about denying ones "holy calling" and that pretty much hit straight into my heart and what you said of "if we stay in it we will never experience more gifts and blessings". Are you saying, we should leave places that are "good to be here" moments for the opportunity to be transformed? 

When I speak of the “holy calling” I am speaking of our dignity and gift of being a beloved Child of God. I know too often in my life I forget that I am holy and created in the image of God. I forget that I am on the road that leads to sainthood; that being a saint is my call today not an award in death. I find it is sometimes too easy to deny this “holy calling” and simply “fit in”. Transformation continually draws me closer to Christ, his truths and the fullness of life that he desires for me. I know in my own journey there have been times that I have denied this by focusing on my self-serving wants instead of my relationships with others and my baptismal call of priest, prophet and king. Our “holy calling” demands us to be in relationship and to build the kingdom, this we must not deny or we are left alone trying to build a tent for an event that is over or afraid to come down the mountain and live our life transformed.

When I wrote about “if we stay in these good to be here moments we will never experience more gifts and blessings” I was speaking of those times that nourish us, encourage us and fan the flame within us that we wish would never end. These moments like the Transfiguration are short lived but have profound impacts on our life. Think about Peter, James and John in the amazing moment of the Transfiguration - they wanted it to be permanent, for it to be the way for life to be. As wonderful as what that would have been they would have missed walking deeper and further with Christ.

For example I was recently involved in a musical; it was an amazing experience. The weekend ended and I didn’t want it too, I wanted to stay in that moment and live it over and over again. It filled me up, it was a “good to be here” moment. However that weekend and production could not go on forever, what does go on forever is the impact it had on me and how it is challenging me to live that goodness in my reality of daily living. Another moment in my life that is a “good to be here” moment includes coffee with a good friend – the conversation is passionate and full. However if we remained having coffee forever we would never experience growth, challenges or new encounters to come back and share creating again a “good to be here” moment. A final example for me is Christmas. I love Christmas and as much as I would love for it to last forever I know that when the season ends I am challenged to live out the Christmas message in the non-Christmas days of the year and encounter Emmanuel in new ways. In doing so I am opened again for the beauty that is Christmas.

I have come to learn that Christ is constantly at work in our lives in the “good to be here” moments, in the tough moments, in the discerning, in the ordinary, in the grand, in the opprotunities to take a long look back, in our ministry, in the choosing to stay where we are because it is right, in the decisions that call us to make tough choices and so on. These moments shape our lives and our journey of faith so that we can live out our life vocations well, claim with dignity our “holy calling” and help others to claim their “holy calling” as well. We are called to be transformed letting the light of Christ imprint it’s self upon us so we may radiate Him each day, then those “good to be here” moments deepen the Christ event of where we are in this time and place.


I hope these further reflections clarify my take on our "holy calling" and our many "good to be here" moments. Thanks to the reader for asking the question.

Continued Lenten Blessings.