#Savor joy

[firstumcschenectady]

“Resurrecting Joy” based on Isaiah 41:4b-10 and Luke 24:1-11

I have a question I'd like you to contemplate: Which do you like more – daffodils or tulips?

OK, assuming you are now ready – daffodil fans can you raise hands and cheer? Tulips fans?

Believe it or not, I'm going to take this a step further. (I know, I know, not the Easter sermon you were expecting.) Tulip fans – can you shout out things you love about them? Daffodil fans?

Thank you.

Amen

;)

Just kidding. This Lent we've done a Bible Study on the Resurrection Narratives. We read the stories of Easter from each of the Gospels, and asked a few questions about each one:

What does resurrection seem to mean here?

Why describe it this way?

How does it feel?

How does this connect today?

As we read and discussed, we started to notice something about the empty tomb stories: they feel incomplete. The empty tomb isn't the POINT, instead it feels like the introduction to the point. The tomb is empty... ok. That could mean a lot of things, including grave robbers. But each of the gospels ends the story of the empty tomb with something to nudge us towards its meaning. Luke ends with the rest of the disciples believing the empty tomb to be an “idle tale” but Peter going to see for himself and being amazed. In Luke in particular, the empty tomb is the start of sharing stories of the post-resurrection Jesus experiences. Those experiences are the ways the followers of Jesus end up claiming that he is alive, and the work of God in him isn't completed yet. It isn't, actually, the women sharing the story (though maybe it should be) or the dazzling clothes of the angels (black? white?). It isn't the early dawn on the first day of the week or the prepared spices. It isn't even the angels saying “he is not here.”

The empty tomb points to the continued life of Jesus, but it is in fact JUST an empty tomb. The early followers of Jesus were transformed in those early days by whatever experiences they had that led them to call it resurrection, and eventually they came to understand THEMSELVES to be the shared Body of Christ, and understanding that has been passed down the ages, right to this moment, when we are together the Body of Christ alive and doing ministry in the world. The empty tomb points to LIFE.

I'm going to take this even a step further. When we say “Christ is alive” I believe that it implies “and calls us to life abundant.” Life itself, just life, isn't the point. Especially today when medical science allows life to continue far after abundant life has ended, it is easy to see that this isn't just about being alive, but about being ALIVE – about life abundant.

Christ is alive and calls us to abundant life.

Christ is alive and calls us to full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE.

But, it is possible that for some of us, that sounds... I don't know, really hard?

Am I off? I don't think I'm off. Our lives are fulled with innumerable stressors, real ones. We've learned that about half of our society doesn't have enough money to “make it,” and another big chunk of society lives in fear of falling under that line. So monetary stress is real, regular, and abundant. Job stress. Health concerns. Traumatic experiences of the past. Worries about our loved ones. And then, heavens, all the things in the news. ALLLLLLLL THE THINGS. There is this constant stream of information about things we should worry about, or fix, or grief, or understand, or... care about.

And the stressors and the worries and the news add up, day after day, after day, after day and maybe full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE feels kinda unlikely? I read an article1 recently that discussed the ways life has improved over the past four years, and that somehow people don't seem to have NOTICED. The authors, psychiatrists, suggested that the malaise of the American public today is due to unprocessed pandemic grief, “But the country has not come together to sufficiently acknowledge the tragedy it endured. As clinical psychiatrists, we see the effects of such emotional turmoil every day, and we know that when it’s not properly processed, it can result in a general sense of unhappiness and anger—exactly the negative emotional state that might lead a nation to misperceive its fortunes.” I know we all want to be over it, but between continued illnesses and deaths and long COVID, we aren't. And, further, we haven't processed it. So, there are good reasons aplenty that we aren't all feeling like we're all in on that full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE that we're called to.

And yet, beloveds of God, we are called to full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE. Even now. So, how do we do it? I came across an idea that I believe MATTERS in reading I thought I was doing for the sake of becoming a better premarital counselor. I was sitting there reading Emily Nagoski's book “Come Together: The Science (and Art) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections” (highly recommend) and in the final chapter her teaching about sexuality and sensuality became even more spiritual. At one point she says, “Our only certainty is that one day, we won't get any more days.”2 Which is pretty much the whole point of Ash Wednesday and part of what we're meant to hold as we travel through Lent AND Holy Week.

She explains in her book the phenomenon of “savoring” which she defines as people's “capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance positive feelings in their lives.”3 She says that there is a Savoring Checklist, and it includes: sharing joy with others – talking about what is happening and why it is good; reminding ourselves that time is passing as a way to cherish a moment before it passes away, which could sound like saying to yourself, '”Time is short and I choose to do this with my time.”; expressing the joy in our bodies – laughing, and jumping, clapping and whooping; and finally slowing down to pay attention to the experience of joy or pleasure itself – in many of the ways we've been taught through mindfulness.4 She goes on to say that every time we chose pleasure and joy we enable ourselves to pick it again in the future and remember the pleasure and joy of the past. Then she says, “when we savor pleasure and thus highlight it in our memory, we can remember our lives as more worth living. We look back on our day, our year, even our entire lifetime, and we see less of the struggle and more of the countless moments of pleasure.”5 The memories “glitter across our memory, brighter and more numerous, when we take time to savor them.”6

OK, so the gist: to live life abundantly there is a trick: take the wonderful moments and savor them – share the joy by talking with others, notice the wonder while it happens, and let your body be full of joy. When you do that – when you savor this wonderful life that God gave you, it will bring your attention to the good, the wonderful, the pleasurable, the joy-filled parts of life, both now and over all.

It will, it turns out, move us to full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE. Just, enjoy the good stuff!! Savor it, let yourself be delighted when you are. And of course, this can be some of the big stuff of life. Every year I savor singing Easter hymns with brass accompaniment, and when I think back to my wedding I remember a moment in the midst of the worship service when I wished it could last forever because it was such a delight. But pleasure and joy are easily abundant everywhere too. Food tastes good (if you are lucky.) Stretching your body feels good. Laying down to rest is a wonder. Your favorite song is worthy of savoring.

And, to bring it full circle, there are pretty flowers in the world. Ones that you have now brought attention to, embodied the joy of, talked about the joy of, and … savored. Daffodils and tulips, they're pretty amazing, huh? And they are just one of the many wonders around us, gifts given by God and others to calls us to full, beautiful, connected, joyful LIFE.

Thanks be to God!

Amen

1https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/03/covid-grief-trauma-memory-biden-trump/677828/

2Emily Nagoski, Come Together: The Science (and Art) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections (New York: Ballantine Books, 2024), 292.

3Nagoski, 270.

4Nagoski, 272.

5Nagoski 273.

6Nagoski, 273.

Rev. Sara E. Baron First United Methodist Church of Schenectady 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she/her/hers http://fumcschenectady.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

March 31, 2024

[thegoodmorningman]

Get some rest. Process a little. Savor small moments of Joy. The show must go on. Good Morning.

[watchinghallmark]

BETHANY JOY LENZ as ELLA WEBER Savoring Paris (2024)

[maedhbros]

it’s actually ridiculous how much my mood has improved in the last 15 minutes because of a fictional lawyer not being dead like it’s now a beautiful day birds are singing there’s music in the air complete 180. fiction is so powerful

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

.

[sainz100]

2024 Singapore GP | x

[lunasilvis]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" was actually Dickens talking about the month of september

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Upcoming Hallmark Movies to air in June

For Love & Honey Saturday June 1, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel Beekeeper Eva uncovers an ancient fresco while rescuing a hive. Austen, a visiting archeologist, thinks it is key to his research, so he persuades Eva to help him on his quest across Malta. Starring Andrew Walker and Margaret Clunie.

Savoring Paris Saturday June 8, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel Disillusioned with her life, Ella embarks on a soul-searching journey to Paris where she navigates love, self-discovery and cheese amidst the enchanting backdrop of The City of Love. Stars Bethany Joy Lenz and Stanley Weber.

A Greek Recipe for Romance Saturday June 15, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel After a recent setback, Abby heads to Greece to visit her mom and decide what's next. While there, she meets Theo and they team up to open a restaurant. But will Abby be able to stay? Starring Danielle C. Ryan and Rafael Kariotakis.

Two Scoops of Italy Saturday June 22, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel When an American chef travels to a quant village in Italy for inspiration, she falls in love with the flavors, culture, gelato, and the Italian gentleman who helps her discover it all. Starring Hunter King and Michele Rosiello.

Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder Thursday May 16 on Hallmark Movies Now Friday June 7, 9pm/8c on Hallmark Mystery A cryptic call about a planned jewelry heist draws a Detroit Free Press tipline operator, Maddie Moore, into a dangerous homicide case alongside a newly promoted detective. Starring Holland Roden and Chris McNally.

[elliesgaymachete]

Very tired of going anywhere or talking to anyone and hearing negative takes on media i like. Like bro can’t i just enjoy shit please. Pls i am begging can i just enjoy one thing without people shouting from the rooftops what they didn’t like about it

[hallmarktheheartoftv]

Savoring Paris

[tropesofhallmark]

Savoring Paris

[uncleasad]

Watched Hallmark’s latest original movie, Savoring Paris, tonight while making/eating dinner, and I’m always happiest when they find ways to deviate from the formula, which this film did in new and interesting ways.

The love triangle was subtle (or at least subtler than typical), and it wasn’t “boyfriend who seems the logical choice on paper but doesn’t actually get her” vs “new complication or old flame who does get her” kind of triangle, either. In some ways, the romantic angle is very much secondary to our heroine’s (Ella, aka Bethany Joy Lenz of Haley James Scott fame) corporate burnout and search for meaning in her life. The film even comes up with believable, if not entirely successful, causes for the “last half-hour conflict” that splits the meant-to-be couple apart temporarily.

The BFF role even has a tiny character arc of her own, which I was pleased to see, even if it was underdeveloped. The BFF, Clotilde, is not technically the token person of color (sigh), but she’s portrayed by French-Palestinian actress Manon Azem, so some of us can make that leap; the film, however, never gives any indication that Clotilde is supposed to be Franco-Arab. (The token person of color is actually Ella’s colleague at her soon-to-be-former job, who has perhaps 4 lines in the first 15 minutes of the film.) Azem looks strikingly familiar, although I can’t place her doppelgänger—the hair reminds me somewhat of my friend Nadya from grad school, but the face is familiar, too.

Every now and again, I’d catch a hint of southern accent in Lenz’s delivery of certain lines, which I can’t say as I recall from One Tree Hill, when the characters were from the south (but that was a long time ago!); it’s one of those things that brings a smile to my face. Also, her portrayal of the burnout phase was stellar—physically, vocally, emotionally, the whole package—so much so that I wondered if Lenz was enduring some sort of traumatic life event during filming!

I’ve never been one to want to act on a whim, be bold and go—although occasionally I have fantasies of being that person, but there are plenty of reminders that I am an introvert at my core to burst those bubbles—but this movie had me missing Paris (and lamenting the sorry state of my French—not much better than Ella’s!) and Cairo. Perhaps I am due another bout of wanderlust?

[rpfisfine]

ALEX IN THE LEAD

[watchinghallmark]

Savoring Paris (2024)

[pastel-charm-14]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* savor the little moments *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

slow down: pause, take a deep breath, and truly be present in the moment. whether it's a sip of your favorite tea or the warmth of the sun on your skin, soak it all in.

practice gratitude: take a moment each day to reflect on the small blessings in your life. even on tough days, there's always something to be thankful for.

find joy in simplicity: it's the little things—a blooming flower, a cozy blanket, a heartfelt conversation—that often bring the most happiness. cherish them.

embrace spontaneity: let go of rigid plans and allow yourself to be open to unexpected moments of delight. life is full of surprises, so why not welcome them with open arms?

cultivate mindfulness: train your mind to focus on the here and now, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. the present moment is where true joy resides.

connect with nature: spend time outdoors, breathing in the fresh air and marveling at the beauty of the natural world. there's something magical about the simplicity of a sunrise or a starry night sky.

share moments with loved ones: laughter is sweeter when shared with friends, and memories are richer when made with family. cherish these connections and hold them close to your heart.

[maiteo]