Archive for the ‘Eastertide’ Category

In the Garden

April 22nd, 2009

Yesterday Bryan and I went with a friend to a market here in Prague that sells plants and fruits and vegetables. We had a great time wandering through stand after stand of fresh ripe fruits and veggies, admiring all of the new growth on the herb and vegetable plants and enjoying the beauty of the flowers around us. Bryan and I ended up buying a tomato plant, some lettuce, some herbs and two pepper plants to grow on the balcony. We will plant them on the balcony this afternoon and I’m really looking forward to getting my hands dirty with this task.

Then last night I read the book Hope for the Flowers. It is a beautiful little story about a caterpillar’s journey to becoming a butterfly and I loved it. I will definitely be reading it again. It was also the first story that I read aloud with the thought of reading to my baby. From what I hear it’ll still be a few more days (maybe about a week) before the baby’s ears are developed enough for it to hear what’s going on outside the womb, but for some reason as I started to read this story I thought of the new growth and change that is happening within me and I wanted to read it aloud to my little baby.

Then this morning when I woke up my brain was writing a short story in my head about a little tree that was transplanted. I forced myself to wake up faster than my body really wanted and rushed to the computer to try and get the story out in writing. I got some of it, but I think that what my brain was writing in bed was a little better than what I put down by the time I got to the computer – funny how it works that way sometimes. But, I still have hope for this story about new growth and change in the life of a little tree.

Then the first blog I read today was Christine Sine’s post on Earth Day. She talks about gardening and all the metaphors for life and God’s work that can come from the garden, but she also mentioned briefly something that really struck me… “the sacramental nature of gardening.” She writes, “how differently would we view God’s creation and our faith if each time we planted a seed we entered into an experience of the death and resurrection of Christ. And what about if we saw the watering of the garden as a partaking in the baptism of Christ after all each time we water it does bring new life to the plants we are tending.” That really struck me. To be honest, I’ve never had much of a green thumb, and I’ve killed more plants and flowers in my day then I’d like to admit, I’ve never had much patience for it and often forgot to tend to the plants. Lately, I’ve been recognizing the importance of tending to creation and also been really liking the idea of growing my own food and living more simply (I guess I fit in with the rest of my generation and a common trend right now – did you know sales of vegetable seeds and transplants are up 30% over last year in the U.S’s largest seed company?). Anyway, I like the idea of gardening a lot, but I’ve had a hard time really getting into it myself, but this picture helped me in some way… thinking of it as a sacrament. I just really like that.

Anyway, I guess God’s been surrounding me with a lot of garden and planting and spring time stuff the past 24 hours and I thought I’d share J

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

 Photograph by Beth Stedman

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Pentecost – The Coming of the Holy Spirit

May 9th, 2008

So, it is common knowledge that this Sunday (May 11, 2008 ) is Mother’s Day, but what some of you might not know (especially if like me you grew up in a protestant evangelical church) is that Sunday is also Pentecost. It is the day that we remember and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. After 50 days of Easter celebrations and remembering the resurrection of our Lord we now come to the culmination – the Spirit has been given and with Him we have purpose and mission. The celebration of the Easter resurrection doesn’t stop, instead it is transformed into a mission and calling to bring this resurrection joy to all the world.

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt[a] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

16“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

17Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

This Mother’s Day may we all remember the Mother of us all, the Bride of Christ – The Church. For with Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit Jesus breathed life into us all and the Church was born. She was not born for herself but for the world – to be a witness to all of the great Love of God. Oh, Bless the Church and reach out in love to her, for however broken or blemished she may be she is God’s and the Spirit of God lives in her! Bless the Church!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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A little Encouragement for the Journey

May 1st, 2008

So, lately I haven’t been reading all the blogs I normally read. In fact I’m really really behind on some of my blog reading so today I decided to catch up a little. I started out by reading through all the blogs of people I know and I came across this blog by Marek and Elaine. I’ll be honest I don’t know Marek and Elaine all that well, we run in similar circles in Prague and I often see them at church and spend a few minutes talking to them, I’ve prayed in their prayer room and spent time playing with their kids, but that’s about it. But, they are a couple that I am continually inspired and challenged by even from afar. I think most of all I love the sincerity and honesty they show as they try to live life following after God – this blog was a good example of that and it quieted me today…

Then after reading through a few other blogs of friends I started looking through blogs by people I don’t know and came to one blog that had this beautiful Pascal sermon posted on it. It struck a chord with me today so I thought I’d share…

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.

The Lord gives rest to those who come at the eleventh hour,
even as to those who toiled from the beginning.

To one and all the Lord gives generously.
The Lord accepts the offering of every work.
The Lord honours every deed and commends their intention.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike, receive your reward.
Rich and poor, rejoice together!

Conscientious and lazy, celebrate the day!
You who have kept the fast, and you who have not,
rejoice, this day, for the table is bountifully spread!

Feast royally, for the calf is fatted.
Let no one go away hungry.
Partake, all, of the banquet of faith.
Enjoy the bounty of the Lord’s goodness!
—A PASCHAL SERMON by St. John Chrysostom (347-407)

Where ever you are today – tired or well rested, hungry or well fed, longing or contented, confused or certain, failing or standing strong – where ever life finds you today may you grab a glass and drink, pull up a chair and eat, hear the music and dance, for Christ has come and He invites all to the banquet and gives new life, full life, to all who will come. Rejoice together! Christ is risen! Rejoice together! Christ is good!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

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Quote: Seeing the good in the world…

April 12th, 2008
“He is the Savior of the world, not from the world. And he saves it by making us again that which we are. But if this is so, then the essential spiritual act – from which indeed stems the whole of “spirituality” – does not consist in identifying the world with evil, the essence of things with their deviation from and betrayal of that essence, the ultimate cause with the broken and evil effects of that cause. It consists not simply in discerning the “good” from the “evil”, but precisely in discerning the essential goodness of all that exists and acts, however broken and subdued to evil is its existence… We live, to be sure, in a wicked world. There seems to be no limit to its wickedness, to suffering and cruelty, confusion and lie, sin and crime, injustice and tyranny. Despair and disgust seem to need no justification; they almost appear to be the marks of wisdom and moral decency. And yet, it is indeed the first fruit in us of restored kingship that we not only can, but spiritually speaking must, while in this wicked world, rejoice in its essential goodness and make this joy, this gratitude, this knowledge of creation’s goodness the very foundation of our own life; that behind all deviations, all “brokenness,” all evil we can detect the essential nature and vocation of man and of all that exists and that was given to man as his kingdom. Man misuses his vocation, and in this horrible misuse he mutilates himself and the world; but his vocation itself is good. In his dealings with the world, nature and other men, man misuses his power; but his power itself is good. The misuse of his creativity in art, in science, in the whole of life leads him to dark and demonic dead ends; but his creativity itself, his need for beauty and knowledge, for meaning and fulfillment, is good. He satisfies his spiritual thirst and hunger with poison and lies, but the thirst and hunger themselves are good. He worships idols, but his need to worship is good. He gives wrong names to things and misinterprets reality, but his gift for naming and understanding is good. His very passions, which ultimately destroy him and life itself, are but deviated, misused and misdirected gifts of power. And thus, mutilated and deformed, bleeding and enslaved, blind and deaf, man remains the abdicated king of creation, still the object of God’s infinite love and respect. And to see this, to detect this, to rejoice in this while weeping about the fall, to render thanks for this, is indeed the essential act of genuine Christian spirituality, of the “new life” in us.” – Alexander Schmemann from the book Of Water and The Spirit

 

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Eastertide (The Easter Season): Viewing Easter as more than a single day

March 27th, 2008

img_6023.jpgIt came to my attention – just this year in fact – that Easter is not a day. Easter is actually a 50 day season of the church calendar starting at sundown on Holy Saturday (starting at the Easter Vigil) and ending at the day of Pentecost, when the church remembers and celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. This year Eastertide lasts until Sunday May 11th (Pentecost).  

It seems right to me that Easter should be longer than a day. It is (or should be) the central focus of our Christian walk. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! And with Him we are risen as well from death to life – not just in the age to come but in the here and now. We were dead but now we live. We were lost but now are found. We have life and hope that cannot be taken from us. Our God is not dead and buried – He is alive and well and active in our lives. And remembering that and choosing to live in that should create joy. Thus, the season of Easter should be a time of celebration, a time of feasting, a time of pure joy.

May the coming days of Eastertide be days of joy for you. May they be days filled with play and celebration and laughter and delight in knowing that God delights in you, He has given you life – life to the full! May each day of Eastertide build on the day before until we come together to Pentecost and with equal joy remember that God is with us, that He has given us His very Spirit and has sent us out with purpose and mission.

Rejoicing in the journey –
Beth Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

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