An article from the Cathedral Times
by the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip
On the Monday after Easter day, Easter Monday we call it, a couple of us crept silently into the empty Cathedral of St. Philip.
Our church offices were justifiably closed on that day, given the happy rigors of Holy Week and Easter. This year’s Holy Week and Easter services were glorious; but, as always, they required much work and commitment—not just from the staff, but from the entire parish! Every year, all of us carve out time, and all of us volunteer resources, so that the Cathedral of St. Philip can observe Holy Week with honor.
Thus, we always take a Sabbath day on Easter Monday. “The Great Sabbath Rest,” is what I call it, following the verse from Hebrews 4:9, “There remains for the people of God a Sabbath rest!” Our offices are closed, and we do not even have a Monday worship service. Our faithful Cathedral parochial entities follow suit: the Preschool and the Bookstore are also closed.
As you can imagine, then, when a couple of us do show up on Easter Monday, we get a lot of uninterrupted office work done! I did so this week. And somehow that work was refreshing and restorative. It was restorative because I also took time on Easter Monday to pray in this beautiful space. Even at rest, this honorable building witnesses to the work and devotion of so many of God’s faithful people. Even at rest, this building reflects the faces of saints. Even at rest, this building echoes with the prayers and music and tears and laughter of the people of God.
Easter was absolutely delightful this year. Thank you! Thanks to each of you who participated in our devotional routines. Some of you were present here almost every day. Others of you showed up just once, or even for just a few minutes. Others of you weren’t here physically at all, but your prayers and generosity were.
Thank you for all those ways of being present. Each of those ways of being present is holy. The Cathedral of St. Philip took time to rest on Monday, a rest that enabled us to remember and to give thanks. As we heard at the Great Vigil on Easter morning, when we read Genesis, chapter one: Even God, our great and wondrous God, even God, takes a rest. Even God observes a Sabbath rest.
I hope you got some rest around Easter Day. I hope you took time simply to stop and to pray. I hope that prayer blossomed into gratitude and thankfulness.
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip