From Everlasting to Everlasting
Easter Sunday
The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
- Psalm 103:17
On this glorious day of resurrection and profound thanksgiving for the gifts we have received on our shared journey, how can we continue to be instruments of compassion as we share the gift of God’s Easter love? How can we help to lessen the amount of suffering in the world?
We now know that suffering with doesn’t mean we take on another’s suffering. It means we connect with it and with the other because we have known it ourselves. We feel with them deeply, and then we do what we can to be a conduit of God’s compassionate healing love. While it can seem overwhelming to know where to begin, perhaps the best place to begin is exactly where we are, as we are. We begin in this moment, this day, to pause, to breathe, to be present, to notice, to welcome, and then to turn to God, who hears all cries for help. We open ourselves to receive the gift of God’s healing compassion and love, knowing we are never alone.
Now that we know that practicing compassion is always a choice, we continue to cultivate the practice of compassion one choice at a time. It is a daily decision and a commitment to return to our intention to open our entire being to God—not in denial or sublimation of our suffering, but with a faith in the deeper mystery and promise of God’s infinite love and faithfulness. Choosing compassion will yield spiritual fruit, offering us emotional and spiritual sustenance in times of grief, upheaval, and uncertainty.
We practice by being present to the movement of the Spirit, to be directly and trustingly present, with ourselves, with others, and with God. It is in the present moment that we are free to listen for our inner life in God. This listening helps us to hear more clearly God’s prayer and hope for us, so that our prayer can join God’s prayer for us, for others, and for the world.
We realize that our well-being is intimately connected with another’s well-being, and their well-being is intimately connected with ours. With this awareness that we are all interconnected, we practice compassion until it grows strong enough to be a natural response in the presence of suffering, despair, and great joy, our own, and others. This is how we will know that we are all connected and held in the love of God.
On this glorious day, may we continue our practice, not from a feeling that we need to change, but from a desire to love others and to be compassionate, as God has been so loving and compassionate to us. May we rest in the unending, loyal, unconditional, immeasurable, unbroken, whole-hearted love of God.
The mystery will not be solved, the power of the mystery will not be denied, for the transcendent presence of the holy surrounds us, will always surround us, and the greatness of the Spirit will endure forever. Be not afraid or anxious. The threshold on which you stand is the mystery of an infinite love, and an intimate love, a love that beckons you into its peace, that welcomes you with a limitless compassion. Be not afraid or anxious. Close your eyes. Open your heart. And you will know what I mean.
—Steven Charleston
It has been our joy to walk with you through this holy season of Lent to our joyous celebration of Easter!
Robbin, Jan & Scott