Easter worship and family traditions will look a little different this year. Worshiping online, bringing ham and asparagus to those quarantined, zooming loved ones just to chat and see their face, checking in on those who are the most affected by the COVID-19 restrictions—yes, things will be different. Even though I will not be having my usual guests for the Easter meal this year, I decided to “put up” Easter around the house anyway. Imagine my surprise, that this year of all years, I had “organized” my storage space so well that neither my husband nor I could find my container of Easter knick-knacks. I was ready to give up and take it as a sign from God that I wasn’t supposed to decorate the house this year, when my eyes landed on one Easter decoration hidden behind the Christmas stuff. This particular knick-knack was something I bought last year, kind of as a joke. The dish was designed to hold dessert bars, a carefully stacked array of plates, teacups and saucers, oddly angled and super-glued together. Teetering precariously on top was a very old Humpty Dumpty planter. I burst out laughing at the irony of the situation: rather than having the comfort of my normal knick-knacks, I found this interesting piece of “art” instead and it gave me pause. Reflecting on what I found, I realized that the centerpiece was a perfect Easter decoration for this year, precisely because our world, like Humpty Dumpty, seems to be teetering on an unknown precipice. Perhaps this realization makes the Easter story— the experience of entering the story of Jesus’ last days and the passion— even more focused for us this year.
Christians of different denominations use a variety of liturgies, drama, and music to help us enter the passion narrative. This year congregations have been pressed to the edges of creativity and technology so that we may all experience the passion of Holy Week. The church has stepped up to the task admirably, but it will be different. We will all have to lean into our imaginations just a bit more this year to make the journey with Jesus, the journey that leads us to Easter morning.
Yogadevotion’s Lenten devotions this year introduced Ignatian Contemplative/Imaginative prayer and will continue with a special Holy Week meditation series. Each devotion will be about 15 minutes and will begin with pranayama (breathwork) followed by three simple asana or poses. Then we will find a comfortable seat, close our eyes, and hear the scripture read two or three times. Time will be allowed for you to imagine yourself in the story through the scripture and then, finally, we will close the meditation with spoken prayer. Devotions will be offered for Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Vigil Saturday. On Easter Sunday, we encourage everybody to find a worship service on TV, radio or online.
We hope that our Holy Week meditations will help you navigate this challenging time and move you from teetering on the edge to finding calm stillness. In stillness we hear God’s promise of love and presence. In stillness our faith is nurtured, and we are reminded that, like Jesus, we can trust God to be God. Enter the story with us, experience the passion, and let’s celebrate God’s victory of life over death on Easter morning!
To follow our devotions please visit our website: yogadevotion.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. For the moment, we are pausing our in person classes and are posting the meditations and other yoga practice videos on the website. We will continue our class sessions when we have been given permission.
We can’t wait to get back to the new normal and will be updating you regularly on our website. Thank you for your support!
BE wise, BE well, BE blessed.
Peace,
Rev Cindy Senarighi ELCA, RN, E~RYT 200 Hr
yogadevotion.com
