Hush…Listen

 For God so loved the world…

 It is April 11. Easter Alleluias continue to ring in our hearts and in our homes.  The tomb is empty! Alleluias ricochet off its cold walls. The purging and introspection of Lent and the Easter renewal of our Baptismal promise leave us feeling clean and refreshed. We are a new people!

 Yet these fifty days of Easter will quickly pass and we will again find ourselves in ordinary time. Truth be told, some of us may be there already. We will face again the emptiness of our own life’s tombs, our doubts and fears, our inadequacies and our suffering.

 Yet Easter asks us to go there, too; to enter the silence of those tombs, to be still.

 For God so loved the world…

Hush…listen

 For the whisper of alleluias

…in the gurgling laughter of a baby

…in the shoots of daffodils and tulips and crowned vetch and yes, even in garlic mustard,

   as they break through the tomb of wintry cold soil

…in the haunting call of a mourning dove

…in the tenderness of an elderly couple holding hands

 For God so loved the world...

Hush…listen

 For the roar of Alleluias

…in the chants of marchers

…in the voices of those standing up against any injustice

…in Enough is Enough

…in our promise that You Matter

For God so loved the world…

 Hush…listen

 For Easter alleluias seen

…in the brilliance of a starry sky

…in the softness of a doe’s gaze

…in the grace of a smile

…in the grace of gratitude

 Hush…listen

 For God so loved the world…

for God still loves the world!

Alleluia!