One of the things I believe…

First, Confession: I’ve spent a fair amount of time, since my fall on Tuesday, binge watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix and floating around  in pain pill heaven, while smearing my knees and left hip with the magic Hawaiian essential oil stuff for muscles and joints.

We’d been invited, in a generous act of hospitality, to the Passover Seder with our neighbors. Sadly, I wasn’t quite mobile enough to go, though we did send chairs and wine.

Saturday night involved re-heating Mod pizza and more Grey’s Anatomy. The pizza was excellent, complete with olive oil, asiago cheese, sweet sausage, arugula, and the figgy drizzle. (Trust me!)

Grey’s Anatomy was a bit harder. The 13th episode from season 3 involves 2 young women who had left their Amish community, one of whom was dying of cancer and the other, being shunned because she had already been baptized before she left.

I’d seen this episode before. More than once. In a reminder, though, of the extent to which art is contextual, last night was harder.

I mean no disrespect to that tradition, about which there are surely many things I do not understand, but last night I was watching with Easter eyes. And I believe one of the things Easter means is that nobody gets shunned.

More confession. It’s not easy. There have been times in my life when I have felt shunned. And times when I have shunned others. Not because of their beliefs, so much, but because of their actions. Use your imagination. I’ll bet you have some, too.

And there’s a rather (in)famous one, these days, who’s quite gifted at shunning. I’m still working on that. Again, use your imagination.

But shunning people doesn’t create change. It just creates more shunning.

And less peace.

Which is not an Easter sort of thing. Nor, in my opinion, a spiritual sort of thing.

So, having pondered Maundy Thursday with a moment for an organic, local Georgia sourdough cracker and a glass of wine, and more or less missed Good Friday and the Passover Seder, I woke this morning in time to see the sun rise and keep working on the parts of me that have, in the past, understood shunning.

Watching the sky behind our pine trees turn pink, I committed myself to shout Hosanna and celebrate this day of days, while doing my best to welcome instead of shun. (Or at least recognize that this was the lesson of the one who is risen again.)

The artwork I chose for today helps. It is one of my photos of an ancient stained glass window from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. Not necessarily Easter-ish per se, but an image of love that moves and encourages me profoundly.

May love surround you and yours, whatever your traditions.

Blessings, Sue and the furry studio angels (who have a  great deal to teach about love themselves!)

(The hymn quoted above is Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna! Contemporary lyrics by Brian Wren and music from Hymn to Joy, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Grey’s Anatomy was developed and is produced by Shonda Rhimes.)