Easter Conspiracy!

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

When I hear these words, I think of two spies meeting for the first time.  They're looking for their contact, whom they will recognize by their response.  

Psssst!  Christ is risen!

This is not too far off from the experience of the first disciples.  Their leader had been executed as a criminal, a threat to the Empire.  They were terrified.  Those who hadn't fled had gone into hiding together.  The terror turned to confusion, and then wonder and joy, as they encountered the risen Christ.  But this joy could not be widely shared without marking them as co-conspirators with the crucified one.  

Psssst!  Christ is risen!

When the imperial persecutions ended and Christianity was defined by empire, the conspiracy (literally, the breathing-with) of those who encountered the risen Christ continued.  It continued within the official Church as its breath, as its renewing source of life.  Sometimes the conspiracy was persecuted as heretical, sometimes it was ignored as "an idle tale" told by women (Luke 24:11).  Sometimes its passwords were co-opted by officials for their own purposes, leading to confusion about God's dream for us.  But the conspiracy, the breathing-together of disciples, continued.  It continues today.

The trauma of the Passion is vivid and enduring.  We see it today in the lives of those enslaved and those who enslave, in the tortured and the torturers, in the prisoners and those who imprison, in the hungry and the overfed, in homeless shelters and mansions full of drugs.  The Passion continues.

But so does Resurrection.  Every time the forces of "this world" think the conspiracy has been crushed it springs forth.  This is how the Spirit works.  It cannot be extinguished.  Like Jesus breathing on the disciples that first Easter morning (John 20:22), the Spirit breathes on us and through us as we carry the words of hope.  As Companions of Mary Magdalene, who first announced the password, we are conspirators - conSpiritors - of resurrection.   As Christians, we conspire to manifest the Kingdom of God.

Join the conspiracy.  Dare to look at your neighbor and say, "Christ is risen!"  Show them what that means through your life and actions.  And teach them how to answer: "The Lord is risen indeed!"

Alleluia!

Moving Day!

Today is the day!

This morning we pack up and move to our new home in Accord, NY, about 40 minutes west of the monastery.  We have been busy planning and packing, so not very present here, but we are very aware of your prayers and support.  Thanks to those of you who have written and/or donated to make this move easier.

This past Sunday's first two readings were just perfect for us as we prepare to move.  If you've wondered why I haven't been writing - I've been busy living into these promises!

Through Isaiah (43:16-21), God promises to do a new thing.  No matter how good it's been (or how bad), we are advised to leave it behind to look for what God is up to now.  I need to hear this.  We've had an amazing time of growth these past three years, but I can get into fear about the next step and imagine that God will suddenly stop carrying me/us forward.  I'm grateful to our clearness committee for naming that fear as a lie and a temptation.    So we go forward with eager anticipation: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [we] press on toward the goal for the prize of heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14).  Like Paul, I've lost or let go of a lot to follow Jesus.  I had a lot of gains: tenure, security, interesting work.  "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of . . . the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (3:7-8).  Yup, it's true.  My former life, my former lives, were good lives.  But compared to what I'm living now, compared to a life centered on the risen Christ, it's all loss.  

Somehow, we know, this is the next step.  It's scary and risky, but any wilderness journey is.  We're not alone.  May you know yourself to be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, and may you too know Christ Jesus.  And may you look for that road, and follow it.

And have fun!

Our deepest hope for this move is that it will open us to new members and ministry.  We don't have a lot of space, but we will have two guest beds (and couches and air mattress . . .).  We look forward to welcoming guests and inquirers, for a short visit or a longer stay.  If you are curious about monastic life lived in a new key, don't be shy!  Our door is open!

We also plan to have gatherings of various sorts, so stay tuned to this page and our newsletter for announcements.  

In the meantime, please keep the prayers coming - they mean so much!