passing through, burning away, letting go, and being born anew

On this '8th day', considering three of the things we hear the Spirit saying to God's people:

1) Walking right through barriers we keep up out of fear, our risen Lord breaths on us the very breath of God, compelling us to be born anew to a living hope.

2) We’re not to hold on to resentments toward others – retaining such ill will becomes toxic not just in our hearts, but festers like an infected sore in our collective body. Forgive others.... and experience forgiveness ourselves by opening our hearts to the grace coming from our risen Lord.

3) When doubts and times of trial test our faith, if we press forward together in love and with hope, our faith can become more genuine and mature, like gold passing through fire, fundamentally remaining unharmed while also becoming further refined and pure as more of the crap is burned away.

a repentant, rejoicing Hallelujah!

Through Facebook this year, a friend intro'd me to Kelley Mooney's authorized adaptation of Leonard Cohen's original Hallelujah.  It hit a necessary chord this year, so I ended up downloading her published version through iTunes and using it as this Easter Sunday's Gospel processional (the hymn before the Gospel reading). 

The image she creates of the Roman centurion looking with fear upon his sword, turning to face his Christ and Lord (Jesus), and falling to his knees to cry alleluia, was particularly poignant, considering not only the international military actions we endlessly endure, but also the more intimate, interpersonal wars we wage daily (and ongoing, for years, in the grudges we keep).  What if we each were to look with fear upon the swords we're carrying, drop them, and turn to face our Christ, falling to our knees in both repentance and joy?

This combination of arresting, humble repentance and overwhelming thanksgiving and joy (that Kelley Mooney has successfully wed to Cohen's classic chords) is in holy contrast to the darker somewhat ambiguous, if not outright ambivalent and broken 'hallelujah' that the Leonard Cohen hints at in the lyrics of his haunting original (see an interview Cohen).  Whereas the poetic songwriter Cohen seems to have been suggesting a cathartic (even orgasmic) utterance that reflexively bursts forth from the dark nights of our souls as a dim glimmer of innate hope (E.g., cover by K.D. Lang), the inspired Kelley Mooney utilizes his same emotional original chords while singing with new, more explicit words right into the brilliant, holy light of Easter, inviting us to join a heavenly chorus of thanksgiving and praise that can melt the hearts of even the most stoic soldiers (ref: Kelley's explanation of her journey with this song).

"But as they went to move the stone, they saw that they were not alone... but Jesus Christ has risen, Hallelujah!"

Palm Sunday

After waving of the palms has ceased and the shouts have subsided... while the haunting cry of 'forsaken' still echos from atop the cross (challenging us to consider who has abandoned whom)... we also enter this week reciting the rest of Psalm 22, including: “Yet you are holy... In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.... For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted.... The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!” (Psalm 22: 3-5, 26)

It’s good to inhale!

How dead is/are...(fill in the blank)? Are you beginning to smell the stink of rot... or are there only bones left at this point? 

It’s never too far gone. The same breath that blew over creation can redeem life and restore hope. Inhale - in with procreative spiritual cells of grace and love that builds muscles of faith.... exhale - out with any hopeless resignation that offers the dank stench of atrophy. 

Weary night watchman standing guard, longing for signs of dawn so that you can breathe more easily, inhale! 

[ref. lectionary readings for fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A]

See also: 

How A New Technology Is Helping Paralyzed Patients Regain Use Of Their Legs

Four young men are now using an implant that lets them move limbs they were told would never work again. What does this mean for the future of paralysis?

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3028720/healthware/how-a-new-technology-is-helping-paralyzed-patients-regain-use-of-their-legs?partner=newsletter%3Ffullsite#3