Happy Easter! …and Alleluia! That word that we buried so many weeks ago, fasting from it for an entire season of Lent, now gets to roll off our tongues whenever we like. It is a joyful exclamation in a joyful season. The season of somberness has come to a close, death has been put in its place, and there is new life bursting out! In our liturgies, we now respond with, “Alleluia, alleluia!” This is our version of the Hebrew word, transliterated Hallelujah, and meaning “praise Yahweh”. This word is repeated throughout the Psalms, and whenever you come across a “Praise the LORD!”, chances are that it’s this word. Somehow, this Hebrew word has joined itself into the vocabulary of the church, no matter what language is spoken the rest of the time. It is an ancient, joyous prayer. And this season, we get to join in with the nations and the centuries in saying it… and living it. Easter is a season, even longer than Lent, and it’s a time to speak our alleluias, to center on the joy of life in God. How does this feel to you today? Are you naturally leaning into this season, more hopeful, perhaps, than you’ve been in a while? A song on your lips as the signs of life continue to spring up? Or perhaps this season is one that feels dissonant to your experience right now. Perhaps you are grieving or exhausted still, and asking, “How do I celebrate?” What if your alleluia this season was more of a practice – a spiritual discipline? Like the season of Lent, with its fasting that may not come naturally, but we engage it anyway, what if you leaned into a practice of celebrating this Easter season? What might that look like?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2021-04-05 14:10:46 UTC