Pascha Basking
If you have read my blog regularly, you will know that “Basking” is the personal philosophy of my friend Mark Gibbs, Ph.D. Mark is a philosophy professor and a fellow convert to Orthodox Christianity. “Basking” refers to basking in the glow of the uncreated light of Christ.
Today is Pascha, Easter in the Eastern Orthodox Church. I am ashamed to say that I almost did not go to Resurrection Matins/Pascha Divine Liturgy last night. I was prepared to go and had made sure that I made enough money on Friday to be able to take last night off for church, but then a conversation with an old friend accidentally triggered some bad memories from around the time the second divorce occurred and I was tempted not to go. I let a lot of fear build up in my mind and even started to feel some anxiety over going to Pascha liturgy. Another friend of mine texted me shortly after this asking if I was going to go and I told her that I was struggling with it. She very gently encouraged me to go and reassured me that I would not regret it if I did.
I get it that we do not go to Church to see our friends. We go to pray. However, as soon as I arrived at the Orthodox Church where I tend to find myself when I do decide to go to liturgy, I ran into some old friends who were surprised and very happy to see me. They asked me where I had been the past few years and how I was doing. I explained that I was still a little bitter toward what went on with the divorce and the church’s involvement in it. I had let the bitterness keep me away from the church. The wife of the couple reminded me that bitterness can keep you away from many things, including living life.
Toward the end of the three hour long service I ran into another friend who wanted to make sure that I was coming down stairs to the church hall for the Pascha feast afterwards. Orthodox Christians tend to pray Easter Liturgy from 10:30 or 11pm until 1:30 or 2 in the morning and then have a feast after Liturgy in order to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord. All of that praying makes you hungry and thus you must eat afterward. Downstairs at the feast three old friends made sure to come over and talk to me so that I did not spend a moment alone the entire night. Talk about basking?! Soaking in the love of Christ?! And yet I feared going to Liturgy last night?! Why?! Lesson learned.
Thank you to the friend who encouraged me to go! You are awesome!
