Easter is almost two weeks later in April than it was last year, which means that we will have an even greater chance of seeing the signs of new life and awakening that come with the Spring season as warmer weather, more sunlight, and hopefully more moisture inspiration a radical transformation in the natural world around us. Trees bud; grass turns green and begins growing; birds fill every morning with their tunes and calls; the ground warms; seeds germinate; new life begins to emerge.
This kind of change in the world around us gives us a yearly opportunity to reflect deeply on the ways that the natural world connects with the story that shapes our faith in this Lenten season. Holy week is soon approaching when Jesus’s mission will come to its climax in Jerusalem before the ruling Jewish and Roman authorities. By Friday of Holy Week, we will be fully aware of how violence, death, humiliation, and destruction still have a hold on our world as Jesus is enthroned as King of the universe on a Roman cross and mocked for his powerlessness to save himself, at least in the ways that those who are accustomed to brokenness and violence expect. We will sit in silence on Saturday, wondering as we do throughout the winter season, if God’s love and mercy can really overcome the great evil and sin that continues to grip our lives. Then, just when we might be struggling to trust, new life will emerge from the tomb on Easter Sunday like the welcomed warmth of longer days of sunshine and rain draw new life out of us and the world around us in Spring.
We are quite familiar though with the signs of Spring all around us. We know what to look for and how to decide when the proper moment is to take advantage of the changing seasons for our landscaping, crop-farming, and livestock-raising, but are we just as familiar with the signs of resurrection all around us as the power of God’s love continues to defeat the powers of evil and death as it did in Jesus the Messiah so many years ago? Can we as easily notice the new fruits of God’s in-breaking kingdom around us?
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