I sometimes find the weeks following Easter Sunday to be a reminder that our hope is in the eternal promise, even as we still live on this side of the so-called veil between this life and the next. When Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, he does not take away any challenges or struggles they still have ahead of them. They are afraid. They are lost. They don’t know what can possibly be next. But he comes and stands with them. He comes into their midst and offers them peace in the midst of their difficulty. He breathes on them the Spirit of life so that they know that whatever they will endure in the time ahead, they cannot be separated from the love of God.

I, like many of you, have now received my second vaccination! As I was leaving the HEB this afternoon, the nurse mentioned that in two weeks I will be considered fully vaccinated according to the CDC. As I reflect on the uncertainty we were facing this time last year, I am astutely aware that I am cautiously optimistic that I will actually get to see all of you in the very near future. I am also trying to let it sink in that Easter will hopefully be the last of a multitude of occasions when we had to try some new and different adaptation just to keep caring for our community.

Listening to podcasts has become a relatively new sermon prep practice this year. I realized today that this has been the first year I observed so many different pronunciations of the word “Triduum.” Seriously, I have heard at least 7 versions of a word I have always pronounced “tri-do-um.” I find the sometimes-excessive jargon of the church to be a barrier to many new and even long-time members, but Triduum is just fun to say. Basically, though, the word just refers to the three day period of prayer in which we observe the last night Jesus spent with his friends in which he gave us the Lord’s Supper, the day on which Jesus was crucified and died, and the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, i.e. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.

I was hiking in the bird sanctuary this week and was overjoyed to see all the bright green new leaves on the trees. I am not sure if it’s because we live in Houston and the seasons are a bit more nuanced here, or if the past year of covid-tide has made time and seasons less distinctive and noticeable, but the sudden blooming of creation is such a great thing to witness. Holy Week too feels this way. When Sarah preached a couple of weeks ago, she shared something a friend said that I think of often: We tend to think we are on a journey or progressing towards Easter, but really, we are running in place and Easter is coming toward us.

As I mentioned in last week’s Spirit Shot, I have received my first vaccine. I am not alone! It seems every day comes with updates from the CDC about how vaccinated people can begin to gather! I imagine these next couple of months will feel like that last hour of a long car trip home when you start to recognize places but still have a way to go before you finally part and step out of the car. We seem to be in the home stretch and I, like you, can’t wait to be back together!!! For now, we are doing everything we can to make sure we arrive at our spiritual home safely.

I went to get my first injection of the vaccine this afternoon and as I walked up to the HEB in Kingwood, I had to do a double take as I recognized another Holy Spiriter coming from having just gotten his shot. It was surprising and joyful to get to share this moment! I reflected all morning on the implications of receiving the vaccine. It occurred to me that getting vaccinated not only promised to guard my own health, but more importantly promotes the possibility of keeping others from getting sick and moving us closer to being able to do all the wonderful things we usually share but have missed at Holy Spirit. While Easter and the finish to our spring will still look different than years past, we are taking steps that will ultimately help us to be ready to come back together.

I was outside talking to a friend recently and realized how brown everything is. The freeze really did a number on our plants! She had heard someone say that we should be prepared for things to be ugly for a little while. I thought of this as I stepped out into a sunny and crisp beautiful day this morning. I have already begun seeing buds of new life on plants that looked anything but alive a week ago. Lent often strikes me in a similar way. This fallow period of waiting and listening can seem like a period when much is uncertain, and everything seems like it will be ugly for a while. Further, as we have surpassed the one-year mark on the pandemic, we may be wondering if last year’s Lent ever actually ended! BUT, glimpses of resurrection are showing up all around us.

This week, our Vestry met for the first time since the Annual Parrish Meeting, and we elected our new wardens. I am quite happy to officially share that Elizabeth Bremner is Holy Spirit’s Senior Warden and Curt Martin is our Junior Warden! The sharing of leadership between clergy and laity is one of the cornerstones of the polity of the Episcopal Church. While we have varying responsibilities, it is such a pleasure to serve a church that shares the ministry of caring for God’s community in this time and place. This Saturday will evidence another occasion of shared leadership as the Diocese of Texas will convene for Diocesan Council. Please pray for our church as we attempt to gather hundreds of delegates virtually, and especially pray for Sandy, Jon, Jordan, Tiffany, Korey, and myself as we participate!