April 2008
One of the really great things about living in Michigan is being able to experience the changing of seasons that is so much a part of our lives. Who doesn’t enjoy the sun and the warmth of summer or the cooler days and the blaze of color that is so much a part of fall? How about the indescribable beauty of a freshly fallen blanket of snow as the sunlight sparkles like a million tiny diamonds across the surface in winter. It’s the little things that catch your attention and stop you in your tracks as they remind you of the wonder of God’s creation. I’ve noticed as I grow older, that winter has its own beauty, but that the cold that is so much a part of it is a little more difficult to take every year. Luckily, experience over the years reminds me that the cold doesn’t last forever.
Without question, I would have to say that my favorite time of the year is the spring. With spring comes longer days and the return of life giving warmth to the air. And the air itself is filled with a freshness and energy that is unlike any other time of year. Spring is a time of renewed hope as the dormant deadness of winter gives way to renewed activity; the greening of the grass and the first glimpses of color as the spring flowers burst forth from the ground. Spring cries out heralding the coming of new life as all of nature awakens to new life.
What could be more theologically appropriate than spring being the time we celebrate Easter? This year Easter fell on a very early date. In fact it is only possible for Easter to be one day earlier and it won’t come this early again in our lifetime. Being so early, the metaphorical connection between spring and Easter; the idea of new life was not nearly as apparent as it could be. But as we now enter into the month of April, with the memory of Easter still fresh in our minds, we begin to see those changes that herald the coming of new life to the world around us; new life that will again fill us with a sense of hope for the future.
So it is in Christ that we find newness of life through the events of Holy week played out again in our lives this year; reminding us that though unworthy, through Jesus Christ, we can and will be restored to the fullness of relationship with God our creator when we put our faith and trust in him. God through Christ completes us and fills that empty longing in our souls for something more; that something that only He can fill.
Easter may be behind us this year, but the coming of spring is a constant reminder for us that there is hope for us and for the world; and that hope comes to us through the God who loved us enough to send his only begotten son into the world that through him we could have real life; eternal life and have it abundantly.
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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