The Wind Blows Where It Wishes…

Apr 12, 2020
Heads Up – there’s a homework assignment in this email for anyone that wishes to be part of shaping how The Table explores Easter this coming Sunday. It’s in the fourth paragraph following this one. 

You may have noticed the media reporting that the pope has cancelled Easter. You may also have noticed the ripple of local reportage about churches planning to gather on Easter Sunday in defiance of increased emphasis on distancing. Perhaps you had the occasion to hear the Premier’s press conference in which he worked to both affirm the importance of an occasion like Easter (or Passover, with which it sometimes overlaps) to many people, and to also let the kids know that the Easter Bunny is isolating. (By the way, so is Santa, and if those heroic figures are staying home, so should you.) All of this is happening while the snow melts (even as it keeps falling), and the green of new life pokes its head up in the sheltered places. One of my siblings has a business related to flood control, and reminded me a few days ago that floods don’t care about Covid-19. My farmer friends say something similar, and while they all wrestle with finding ways to do their essential work while also seeking best practices regarding physical distancing, spring will not be stopped. We can cancel Easter, but good luck with shutting down new life.

I find the intersection of these ideas very fascinating. They feel like the sort of things that percolate away underneath even our deepest ruminations about what it means to be spiritual beings, to be connected to “God”, to live lives that are rooted in something beyond short-sighted service of our own desires and preferences. These are, of course, not new ideas. When a well-educated religious scholar and priest asked Jesus about how to be more deeply connected to God, Jesus replied by pointing to the wind, saying  “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit”  (John 3:8 NLT).

All to say, there may be many ways to think about an occasion that has historically marked the mystery of life where it appears there is only death, and in the end we might be better served by considering the ways in which we feel the wind of new life than by making dogmatic statements about where the wind comes from or where it’s going.

So this Easter, this strange, de-constructed Easter, that’s what we’re going to explore. Here’s the homework part: If you wish, send me an email <tim@thetablewinnipeg.com> with your answer to the question “What does Easter mean to me?”.  In our context as an exploring community, your answers will be received without judgement. You should be aware that I will share them as part of what I offer online on Sunday. I won’t identify the sources, just share the content. IMPORTANT DETAIL – I need those answers by the end of the day on Friday in order to integrate them into what we do on Sunday. Please…:)

Also, several of the musicians in the community will be sharing videos of songs that they have chosen that address that same question in some way. We’ll gather that all together (still working out the details of how to do that) and offer it in our Facebook gathering Sunday morning. 
 
As always, I’m looking forward to exploring with all of you. As strange as it may be to not gather physically, my experience so far has been one of connections being deepened rather than eroded. I’m grateful for that.
I’ll “see you” on Sunday.
Peace,
Tim Plett
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