Anyway
The past week has been incredibly humbling and hopeful. Beginning on Wednesday evening with Tenebrae, Seder Meal and Maundy Thursday service with foot washing, Good Friday services, welcoming Bishop Carrie to Easter Vigil where we baptized William, confirmed Jude, Shreya, Alexander and Jasmine, and received Robin - all dear parishioners. We crowned the week’s work of ministry and worship with glorious Easter services on Sunday.
One of the highlights of the week was seeing the congregation join the choir in singing the Alleluia chorus at the end of service - what a joy it was! What a blessing it was to experience that moment of excitement and raw emotions propelled by faith, what a gift to feel the spirit of warmth, felicity, and comraderie crown our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a powerful witness!
Typically, the choir sings the Alleluia Chorus and parishioners who are familiar with the words sing along with the choir. But this time, Jan - Senior Warden - distributed music sheets to worshippers and invited them to join in.
I have yet to find out from her what prompted her to share the music sheets. One thing I know is that nothing prevented her, but she shared them anyway. Maybe she desired to invite each worshipper to sing in celebration of the gift of our salvation. Maybe it was an attempt to let our visitors and first-timers experience the openness and welcoming nature of our parish. Maybe, it was an attempt to see all of us offer our best in song. She didn’t have to do it, but she did it anyway, and the result was simply amazing. It has never felt so, so good.
Easter Sunday at Christ Church has never felt so marvelous. It was the best that we could offer, and we did it in such a spectacular way. There were more children than I could count. I give thanks to our staff and all the countless volunteers who also gave their best to make sure that all who worshipped here, both in-person and online, had a great worship experience.
In many ways, Easter is a celebration of the God who offered His best to us. Not that we are perfect. Listen to Paul: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And even while we were yet still sinners, God raised Jesus from the dead just so you and I can bear witness to an abundant life and hope.
As life-transforming, life-giving, and incredibly mystifying as it may be by itself, the resurrection has nothing to confirm, nothing to validate, and nothing to prove. It is only when with our lives we bear witness to its power. It is only when despite everything else, we choose to manifest God’s power within us - do some good stuff anyway - that proves that we are indeed witnesses to a mystery that transcends human understanding. More than that, we are agents of God’s reconciling and unconditional love.
Our reality is one where we are all busy with work, careers, marriage, raising children, and living. Does it ever cross our minds that we are witnesses of the power of the resurrection? And do we intend to be witnesses on the other side of life or do we intend to be witnesses on this side of life?
Granted that we face some challenges, and some are very steep, but we always have to do the bidding of the resurrection.
I learned about some wise words written on the walls of an orphanage in Calcutta, India:
“If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motive, be kind anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten; do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you’ve got, anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God, anyway.”
These wise words invite us to be kind, build, do good, and offer the best that we have. It recognizes the reaction of others to what I consider to be the bidding of the resurrection. These wise words encourage us to be kind anyway, build anyway, do good anyway, and offer our best anyway.
This Easter season, I invite you to reflect rather deeply on your own spiritual journey. What are the things that hold you back? What sort of things consume your attention? How easily do you fall prey to the words of others? The searing question is, do you, and can you, offer your very best in all circumstances?
It sometimes may appear that your very best may not be good enough but remember that as long as you believe within your heart that you are offering what you believe to be your very best, offer it anyway. That, to me, is what matters.
To do your best - your very best - is to be kind anyway, build anyway, do good deeds any way - these are Easter’s bidding to us, anyway. And that's how you can be Easter's witness, anyway.
Happy Easter!
Manny+