Growing Into Glory
Lynne Elwinger, O.C.D.
Glory! What a wonderful word it is, alive with resurrection radiance and Pentecost energies! Carrying with it a sense of new life, it resounds of renewed hope and infinite possibility. Throughout the Easter season, all creation seems to be celebrating resurrection life. Joy is in the air.
The wave of this energy crests at Pentecost as the gift of the Spirit is poured out on the world, permanently permeating all that lives with patterns of glory which renew the face of the earth. Then, all too often, life returns to "normal", goes back to business as usual, and the glory seems to recede from view.
But what of those glory-seeds scattered in such profusion? Are we not meant to nurture them and grow with them, perhaps even to grow into that glory ourselves? Easter, fully understood, is not so much an event remembered as it is a living energy which continues to transform and recreate us every day. All we have to do is to recognize and open ourselves to the gift. Easter energy, like a 24-hour-a-day radio transmitter, bathes our world with continuous signals. Our task is to tune in, to be present to them. To aid in this work, we have been gifted with the everpresent Spirit of God to teach and inspire us.
One way of tuning in is to make time at each day's end to rreview the events of the day, looking for Easter moments. Even the worst of days will have a few if we look closely. Some days overflow with them. An Easter Box can also be a help. This is a box or file of cards or notepapers on which each day's discovered Easter moments are recorded. This can also be done in a journal. When Sunday comes, take a little extra time to reread the week's glory notes and to reflect on them.You will gradually begin to see patterns emerging there. How did joy touch your life? Beauty? Love? Compassion? Patience? New understandings? Endurance? Courage? Strength in adversity? Hope? Look at the small things. As Ludwig Van Der Rohe reminds us, "God is in the details." Savor these Easter moments, revisiting the energy, feeling tones, thoughts, and actions associated with them. Let these energies take root in you, as you hold them before you.
God Is In The Details
In time you will also begin to be more aware of actions, thoughts, and feelings which seem out of harmony with these patterns of glory. Staying more tuned in will slowly change your focus and your priorities. Empowered by the Spirit to work in this way, we become more fully Easter people. Resurrection Life becomes more the reality of our everyday lives.
Growing into these patterns of glory, we now truly have "good news" to share with others, Eastering their lives as well. We participate with the Spirit in renewing the face of the earth. We grow into glory!
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