Vine and Branches: Easter Wednesday
I am the Vine
How might it feel to be part of the vine?
Not just to see the vineyard from afar
Or even pluck the clusters, press the wine,
But to be grafted in, to feel the stir
Of inward sap that rises from our root,
Himself deep planted in the ground of Love,
To feel a leaf unfold a tender shoot,
As tendrils curled unfurl, as branches give
A little to the swelling of the grape,
In gradual perfection, round and full,
To bear within oneself the joy and hope
Of God’s good vintage, till it’s ripe and whole.
What might it mean to bide and to abide
In such rich love as makes the poor heart glad?
—Malcolm Guite
Happy Resurrection week friends! May you know new life, peace, and hope today, tomorrow, and forever. Easter Sunday kicks off a week in the liturgical calendar known as the Easter Octave and a seven-week festival called Eastertide or The Great Fifty Days.
Read all the way to the bottom to join my photo-a-day challenge for the first week of Eastertide!
LOOK: Okefenokee Swamp from “Okefenokee: Heavy and Precious” by Janisse Ray | Photos by Gregory Miller - Source
LISTEN:Here Comes the Sun, Eastertide 2023 playlist
READ: Psalm 97, 99; Psalm 115; Micah 7:7-15; 1 Corinthians 15:29-41; John 15:1-11
PRAY: Collect for Easter Wednesday, the Book of Common Prayer
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
DO: Share a photo for the photo-a-day festival!
In previous years, we've celebrated the Great 50 Days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday (aka, Eastertide) with a series I've dubbed Practice Resurrection (after the Wendell Berry poem). It's one of my favorite series all year, and I'm excited to start again. To get the photo-sharing party started, I’ve created an eight-day social media challenge for the first week of Eastertide. Use the prompts as simply or creatively as you’d like, add the hashtag #practiceresurrection2023 and tag me @tamarahillmurphy on IG or @asacramentallife on FB.
Can’t wait to practice resurrection together this week, friends!
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
Tamara
You might also enjoy: 50 Ways to Celebrate the Great 50 Days of Eastertide! Choose 1 idea or 50, but whatever you do, do it with gusto! You can read here for a brief description of the liturgical season of Eastertide, and see previous Eastertide posts here.
*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1)