It was a mild weekend in late winter, the pea seeds had come to the house earlier in the month. Just the week before our trellises, tomato and pepper supports, and our cucumber trellis had arrived at our home. I was ready for the season of planting and hoping. With a mild weekend and my eagerness to get out in the soil and prepare the garden for planting, it was hard to contain my spirit. As the morning wore on, I eagerly went about the activity of planting my garden and anticipating that one day the seedlings would break through the soil and lift their tender heads to the shining sun.
As I prepared the earth for planting, and as I write this blog, I am aware that this is the beginning of Holy Week. The Palm Sunday parade has happened and the plans for Easter morning are already in motion. Special services are planned throughout the community, informing the public that there is something different about this week that is not like other weeks. Holy Week is not a time in the church year that we are necessarily filled with joy and imagination. It is a quieter, more personal time of thoughtful reflection. It is a time when Christians reflect upon the life of Jesus and how his life and his message shapes us and motivates us to live more in line with his teachings. Holy Week reminds us that the Christian faith is not a faith of convenience and endless joy; rather it is a daily struggle to do what is right, what is good and what is faithful. This time in the life of the Christian church puts the ups and downs of life in perspective and prepares our spirits to receive the amazing grace of Easter morning. Holy Week is a time of darkness, but one that opens, slowly to the light of what is yet to come.
As I think about Holy Week and the seeds I planted in the garden this weekend, I am reminded that seeds, like you and me, are 'lenting' for a time. Like a gardener prepares the soil for the incoming seed, so do we use this time to prepare our own soil -- our own souls for the spiritual seeds that have been planted within us since the day of our baptism. Just as seeds must rest for a time in the warmth and darkness of the soil, so must our own spirits rest for a time in the darkness of this week. One day the pea seeds that I have so carefully planted will break through the earth and receive the light of the new day, their roots bathed in the warmth of the spring rain. Even as the storm clouds gather and we find ourselves running for cover, we know that the storm will pass and the dawning of a new day will one wash over us, revive our souls, and like a planted seed will open to the morning sun. In this way, so will our spirits rise up and embrace the rising son.
Matthew writes, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come; see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message to you." Matthew 28:5-7.
May this holy time of 'lenting' be a time of spiritual and personal growth, and in time, may your spirit awaken to the new life that is within you. Yes, it is Holy Week and our souls are not rejoicing today, but just on the other side of Golgotha there is a place called Galilee. Go there and you will see the beginning of a new day!
As I prepared the earth for planting, and as I write this blog, I am aware that this is the beginning of Holy Week. The Palm Sunday parade has happened and the plans for Easter morning are already in motion. Special services are planned throughout the community, informing the public that there is something different about this week that is not like other weeks. Holy Week is not a time in the church year that we are necessarily filled with joy and imagination. It is a quieter, more personal time of thoughtful reflection. It is a time when Christians reflect upon the life of Jesus and how his life and his message shapes us and motivates us to live more in line with his teachings. Holy Week reminds us that the Christian faith is not a faith of convenience and endless joy; rather it is a daily struggle to do what is right, what is good and what is faithful. This time in the life of the Christian church puts the ups and downs of life in perspective and prepares our spirits to receive the amazing grace of Easter morning. Holy Week is a time of darkness, but one that opens, slowly to the light of what is yet to come. As I think about Holy Week and the seeds I planted in the garden this weekend, I am reminded that seeds, like you and me, are 'lenting' for a time. Like a gardener prepares the soil for the incoming seed, so do we use this time to prepare our own soil -- our own souls for the spiritual seeds that have been planted within us since the day of our baptism. Just as seeds must rest for a time in the warmth and darkness of the soil, so must our own spirits rest for a time in the darkness of this week. One day the pea seeds that I have so carefully planted will break through the earth and receive the light of the new day, their roots bathed in the warmth of the spring rain. Even as the storm clouds gather and we find ourselves running for cover, we know that the storm will pass and the dawning of a new day will one wash over us, revive our souls, and like a planted seed will open to the morning sun. In this way, so will our spirits rise up and embrace the rising son.
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| In our end is our beginning |
May this holy time of 'lenting' be a time of spiritual and personal growth, and in time, may your spirit awaken to the new life that is within you. Yes, it is Holy Week and our souls are not rejoicing today, but just on the other side of Golgotha there is a place called Galilee. Go there and you will see the beginning of a new day!
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