Monday Morning Musing: Beginning with Gratitude

Fifty Days of Gratitude: Eastertide 2023

The Feast of the Resurrection

4.9.2023

Every year, as a spiritual discipline, I embark on a fifty-day journey of gratitude. Truth is, it’s a helpful thing to be intentional about gratitude every day, not just during the 50 days of Eastertide. But for me, this very specific rhythm in a season when new life abounds is a good and joyous thing.

Some of my posts will be longer than others and some will have visuals or links that accompany them. Some will feel like I’ve hit the mark and others will seem perfunctory and that’s just fine, too. The whole point of this exercise is in the noticing. Noticing that I have things for which I am profoundly grateful each and every day. And in the writing, I take the time to say why. And in the sharing, I invite you to notice, too.

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Today Bruce and I worshiped at Christ Lutheran Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A seminary classmate is the pastor there and we surprised her with our attendance. What a beautiful building, reflecting not just the faith community that gathers there, but the landscape so particular to New Mexico and the southwestern United States. And what a warm and welcoming congregation. They even invited us to stay for the potluck lunch! It was so good. The tables where we gather are often the places we come to know one another more deeply.

We heard the story of the discernment this congregation has done over their future. Quite recently, they weren’t sure they had a future, as the congregation ages and grows smaller in numbers. But a spark has been ignited that even I as a stranger in their midst could see. They are committed to providing a safe shelter for the growing number of people in Santa Fe living without homes. How this will look, exactly, is still being imagined, but the message of the Gospel fairly shone through these disciples as they talked about what might be possible. I was happy to share some of what I knew from my experience and together we affirmed that the resurrected Christ not only calls us by name, but tells us not to be afraid in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.

This is why small congregations matter. And this is why the Church needs to figure out how we continue to equip leadership in them, even from among them. Because every community from sea to shining sea contains these humble congregations who are digging in and taking seriously what it means to be disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. The risen one, yes, and also the one who spent three years compelling us to love for all people.

Today, I’m so grateful for these small communities of faith. For their gritty resilience, for their faithful perseverance and if the season comes, for their willingness to set aside their own life together so that something else can be resurrected. Birth – death – resurrection. It’s Easter.

I love this depiction of the Last Supper, found in the narthex at Christ Lutheran, Santa Fe. Note the feet of the disciples and Jesus are visible under the table!