Easter Momentum

Mountain Reflection ~ Sunday May 4, 2025

The tomb is open

All has changed

Life forever rearranged

Challenging me:

Living

Growing

Healing

Knowing?

Being.

There were years earlier in my ministry when the weeks following Easter were times of stillness, of rest, of quiet. That’s not the case here during my second Easter in the Kootenays. These weeks following Easter seem to be propelling life forward amazingly swiftly. Spring unfurls with great abandon, and these days I find myself swept along in rivers of energy, conversation and great joy.

In visits and interactions with new parishioners I sense a lightness, wonder and radiance as individuals share their journeys of life, and their observations on this community. People highlight and question things that to me were so familiar that I had taken them for granted; new eyes on ancient practice are transforming the faith community.

I also feel humbled when I interact with the wider community beyond our church: I meet great love, great compassion and great care. My dialogue and presence in the community beyond the church reveals Jesus to me in many ways. For example, last week during my weekly visit to Nelson’s Temporary Drop-in Shelter, I witnessed a beautiful Birthday celebration for unhoused folk. I have rarely seen such expressions of love, joy and belonging. It brought me to tears.

This week I attended the West Kootenay Homelessness Summit, and participated with non-profit agencies, Government, front line workers, and persons with lived experience of homelessness. I felt included, engaged and inspired to engage deeper with the community.

It seems everywhere I turn I witness newness.

New life

New healing

New perspectives

New energy

This Easter for me is a time of searching and finding Jesus in the wider world. For me it is a time to refocus my lens, experience the movement of the Spirit and be thankful for the joyous momentum I see in the community.

Sometimes I wonder if too much of the church’s energy is caught up in trying to bind Jesus within our old structures, systems, liturgy and learning. And this sometimes leaves me feeling that my momentum is at odds with that of the faith community.

Here in this place, this moment, I find myself asking:

Where is Jesus?

How are we showing up with Jesus?

How is life reflecting this change?

After the resurrection, the disciples were commanded to continually pray, serve, and participate in healing and care. We are called to leave our places of comfort and safety, to encounter others and, through that connection, be present to the Holy Spirit.

We can’t live in the tomb forever. We have to venture beyond the locked upper room. We’ve got to fish on the other side of the boat. Yes, it’s scary, but we must not be shackled by fear.

When we venture beyond our comfort zones we might just find Jesus. We might just witness the work of the Spirit moving, growing, and blossoming in the hearts, minds and hands of those whom we encounter.

David

The Rev’d David Burrows is the Incumbent Priest of the Anglican Parish of Kokanee, encompassing Nelson, Kaslo, and the North Shore.

This writing is a part of his weekly blog ‘Mountain Reflections'.