Keeping the Easter Feast

Dear Kaleid Ladies,

Happy Easter to you! He is risen! Whether or not day-to-day life reflects it, we have turned the page on the Church calendar and moved out of the 40 days of the Lenten fast and into the 50 days of the Easter feast. 

The simple question on the table today is a question of feast-keeping in a time of restriction, isolation, and suffering. 

How do we keep the Easter feast? 

Perhaps we remember that we occupy holy space. Always, but especially now. 

Did you know that the practice of quarantine originated in Italy during the plague and derived from the biblical concept of spending 40 years wandering in the desert or 40 days in the wilderness? Quarantine is also a daily, measured sacred space--holy ground where God’s life is at work in mysterious ways.

Perhaps we remember that our hunger and our feasting are intertwined.

Feasting is not something we focus on very much in American culture. Of course, there’s Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it seems that in our normal world, most every day can be a feast day--a day of indulgence--if we want it to be. This strange season has put us in deeper touch with our hunger, hasn’t it? We hunger for a hug. We hunger for a meal with friends. We hunger for work and rhythms. We hunger for freedom of travel and adventure. But isn’t it also true that as we’ve come into contact with our hunger, we are also more aware of the feasting available to us? The feast of springtime bursting before our eyes. The feast of time to connect with ourselves and God more deeply. The feast of creativity in the kitchen and at home. The feast of books, board games, and walks. 

Perhaps we remember that our physical life and our spiritual life are intertwined, too.

Finally, we invite you to pause. Look up from this email for a moment. Take in the space around you. What colors do you see? What sounds do you hear? Who is in the room with you? Are you breathing deeply or shallowly? Is your stomach full or empty? Is your body antsy or relaxed? These physical realities are all places of God-life in the world and can, therefore, be places where we keep the feast. We can feast with our eyes. Our ears. Our presence with other living beings. Our breath. Our food. Our exercise and our rest. Simply by noticing and receiving the gifts of life in the physical world, this day. 

There is ample opportunity to keep the feast, to remember that life conquers death, even in the simplest things. So, friends, as we feast on small graces, reminding ourselves and those in our care of the victory of God’s life, may joy outpace sorrow.

Blessings to you, and Happy Easter!

The Kaleid Team

P.S. - You may have heard this blessing song, but it’s worth listening to again, with open hands. 

Photos: Pink Azaleas Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash