Saturday, May 2, 2009

DAYA Enews- May 2009 Article

The Great 50 Days of Easter

by Tiffany Hatfield

Whew! After a whir of activity during Holy Week, I feel like I can finally settle in and savor the pure joy of the Great 50 Days of Easter (or at least the 30 or so we still have left before Pentecost). The “Alleluias” are back, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier about it. Don’t get me wrong, I get a lot out of Lent, with its pious tones and time for deep, serious reflection, but I am always glad to hear, “Alleluia. Christ is risen.” during Easter Vigil. He’s back! The same, only different! Like Gandolf in Lord of the Rings, only better! How awesome is that?!

Okay, so now I may have lost some of you as I let a bit of my nerdy side show through. I admit it, I love Lord of the Rings (LOTR). In fact, I booked my flight home from college one year so I could go directly from the airport to a midnight showing of The Return of the King. Bear with me though, even if you’re not a huge fan or haven’t seen the movies.

For last month’s Theological Brew, our Diocesan Coordinator, Lauren Woody had the ingenious idea to create a version of Stations of the Cross using movie clips—from Shawshank Redemption, Simon Burch, Cinderella, Chicago, and more—to tell the story of Jesus’ final hours. Lauren chose a clip from LOTR of the reaction of the characters to the heroic, sacrificial death of Gandalf the Grey to illustrate the despair that was surely felt by the disciples after Jesus died. She also chose a clip where Gandalf returns from apparent death in a glow of bright light—the same and yet remarkably different— to show the shocking nature of Jesus’ return to earth after three days.

As most people who sat through all 558 minutes (of the theatrical version) of those movies would tell you, after you’ve seen the heart-wrenching agony this band of brothers felt upon losing their leader, the reappearance of Gandalf is a sight for sore eyes. Even in a time of peril and uncertainty, there is such joy, such relief, such hope upon his return that your heart can’t help but leap a little in your chest. He’s back! The same, only different! So much like our own Savior! How awesome is that?!

Sometimes, it is easy to think, “Okay, Easter’s over, now back to normal.” Our “normal” is entirely new though. In this Great Eastertide, I keep pondering what a great thing it is that He’s back, that Jesus is raised from the dead. I think that each time we really, truly allow ourselves to experience the power of God breaking through the darkness, through the silence, through our walls and barriers and bodily shells, we come out all the better for it. We see the world in a new way. We encounter others in a new way. We are the same, only different. Like our old selves, only better… and it is truly awesome.