::breathing the kingdom of heaven::

Photo credit: Church of the Rez - Lights and Lessons
*breathe in*     *breathe in*
*breathe out*   *breathe out*

This unconscious rhythm of our bodies keeps us alive. We do it instinctively because it's part of how we function and what we need to survive. What are those instinctual rhythms in our spiritual lives? Literally and metaphorically. I believe the kingdom of heaven both in the sense of the 'already and the not yet' is integral to our spiritual well-being. I don't know about you but I struggle with what the kingdom of heaven means in my day to day life. Where is it? What is it? How do I participate in it and in furthering it? I went to a school whose motto is "For Christ and His Kingdom" so I feel like I should have some idea of what's going on. I guess going to a Christian liberal arts college doesn't prepare you for everything. Anyways, what does it mean for God to be king and for me to live in His kingdom? How do I invite others into something I don't fully understand? Which honestly kind of sounds like the Christian faith in general, that could be a separate blog post someday. This past Lenten season, I breathed in and out the kingdom of heaven in new, powerful, and marvelous ways.

PC: Church of the Rez - "Creation"
I've attended an Anglican church for the past 4 years called Church of the Resurrection (Rez for short) and I absolutely love it. One of the unique things Rez does is celebrate Holy Week with a multitude of services. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Sunday, in between are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. In that week, 12 services are held with Scripture and the sacraments at the center of each. I had the privilege of attending 10 out of the 12 this year, something I've never done before.

I'd experienced Holy Week before and know how amazing it is especially Easter weekend. Therefore the Lenten season was a mix of anticipation and excitement while still trying to live in the present moment. I don't think I've had that kind of built up eagerness for a holiday since I was a child. Why was I so excited? Because I had some inkling of what the week would be like. I had had my feet washed and washed another's feet on Maundy Thursday. I had kneeled at the cross on Good Friday asking for His mercy on my sins. I had been helping with tech for rehearsals for the Lights and Lessons and seen Scripture come to life in transformative and heart-touching ways. I had danced in the aisles on Easter morning with hundreds of people singing with joy. I didn't know how the week would play out exactly but I knew God would show up in grace-full and Spirit-led ways. And of course, He did.

PC: Church of the Rez - Jumping for joy on Easter morning
Seeing a fraction of the behind the scenes work that went into the services and the legitimate small army that made them happen blew me away. A tremendous amount of time, energy, leadership, and teamwork occurred so that these services might touch hundreds of people. The sense of community  while working towards a common goal was incredibly intense throughout my entire experience. I didn't previously know most of the people I worked with but even as I learned names and faces, I loved that on one level it didn't matter. What did matter was that we were all working together for a greater purpose. That's why, in spite of the long and late hours, there was an incredible spirit of patience, grace, kindness, and joy pervading the atmosphere. People were ready to move props, set up equipment, rehearse again, or do whatever needed to be done. That was the body of Christ in action and I'm so grateful to have been one small part of it. Naturally, there were stressful moments and many times of running back and forth but everything turned out beautifully overall.

Being part of the Holy Week experience is one of the most meaningful things I've done in my short life. Why? I think because we didn't put in hours of rehearsal, set up, and scheduling for ourselves. We did it because we wanted to, because we loved doing it and sharing our gifts with our greater community, and most of all, because we deeply believed that we were participating in the kingdom of heaven here on earth. That is what I can't fully describe to you and I will never forget. We were striving for a furthering of God's kingdom and in that striving, we breathed in and out what His 'already' kingdom looks like. We breathed in, filling ourselves, and breathed out, blessing others. Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!


The video is a short clip of the "Holy Noise" on Easter morning to celebrate Christ's resurrection!

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