Easter people are a people fully alive!  If you have no fear of death, life becomes a great friend.  While there are many things in the world that are far from the life that God intents, I also think there are moments in his life where we can catch a glimpse of its nearness.  We might see something, taste something, smell something, touch something, or hear something that awaken us.  To be fully alive is to embrace the senses and engage in the spiritual sense that God is with us. 

 

    Have you ever noticed the engagement of the senses in the scriptural witness?  Jesus smelling the costly perfume as Mary anoints his feet.  Peter feeling the rush of water around his neck as he takes his eyes off Jesus during his attempt to walk on water.  The sweet taste of the Passover meal with its lingering bitterness on the palate as Jesus prays in the garden and Judas does his thing.  “The sheep hear my voice” Jesus says, and we listen.  The smell of fish baking over a charcoal fire at Easter’s shoreline, and the taste of the meal of reconciliation and renewed purpose.  “Jesus performing many miracles and signs in the presence of others” John’s gospel tells us, but “blessed are those who have not seen, and yet come to believe.”  John of Patmos (book of Revelation) tells of his ‘vision’ that could not have been perceived with eyes-alone.  There must be more to being fully alive than just the 5 senses we were taught about in school. 

 

   I’m fully aware that there are those among us who are worried about our senses.  Age takes its toll on our bodies, and there is a diminishing ability to see or hear like we once could.  We engage the very real possibility and conundrum of which one is worse to lose.  And yet somehow in the loss, appreciation grows.  In the loss, reliance upon (and reliability of) the others are heightened.  This feels like cross and resurrection to me.  And I’m reminded of the spiritual sense that is faith—a gift and a skill—that is both received and nurtured in ourselves over a lifetime.  I can’t make my eyes work better than they did when I was 20, but I can hone my spiritual sense and work on my faith maturity in ways that enhance life for myself and those around me.  Faith is the one sense that is regenerative. 

 

   So I’m praying that we engage the senses this summer.  As you are able, enjoy the fullness of life that summer offers.  Feel water on your skin.  Allow the heat to warm you and let it sink into your bones.  Listen to the birds of the air and smile at the sounds of the laughter of children on break.  Taste the sweetness of in-season strawberries on a summer salad.  Wake up early to smell the distinctness of a summer morning.  Stay up late to witness the awesomeness of a summer lightning storm.  Look with the eyes of your heart for all the ways that God is inviting you to become fully alive with the world. 

 

   “And do not neglect to meet” as Paul would remind us.  Being fully alive is engaging the world around us; so is engaging in the spiritual disciplines of study, worship, prayer, giving with generosity, service and fellowship.  Being fully alive is engaging the self that is truly it’s best self in the community of faith.  This is how we grow.  This is how we live.  This is how we give thanks with our whole lives—mind, body, soul and strength—in love for God who has given us life to live.  Life abundant and life eternal.  May it be so, this summer.  And beyond.  Amen.

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             Summer Blessings,

  

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                      The Rev. Kenneth M. Hardway

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