“Behold, my brothers, the spring has come; the earth has received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of that love. Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we, too, have our being.”
As I was pausing in a “sit spot” on my back steps this week, a flash of white caught my peripheral vision. To one side, in the midst of my old leaf-filled garden, was a single, bright white crocus. Somehow it had survived all of the Easter Bunnies who so efficiently ate most of the crocus I’ve planted. The leaves were nibbled off, but the flower had survived. I marveled at its symmetry, its color, its aliveness emerging from the dead leaves composting around it.
This week Jews are celebrating Passover, a holiday about all kinds of freedom. For Christians, it is Holy Week and today is Good Friday, a somber day recalling the crucifixion and death of Jesus that comes before the rejoicing of Easter Sunday. As a kid growing up in a Humanist Unitarian Universalist congregation, our Easter was a rite of spring, a joyous celebration of the cycle of seeming death into life with all the pagan and naturalist symbols that are part of it. Once you add the human element to the Easter equation, however, some argue that Easter is only more meaningful once you’ve been through
some Good Fridays.
Some of us may have had a Good Friday sort of week- whether due to personal challenges or anxiety about our nation, the war, or family members in the military being moved to “undisclosed locations”. For some, this is a fairly ordinary week and Easter is not a particularly meaningful holiday. For some, this week means family reunions or dying eggs and trips to get candy, and in just two days the tremendous excitement of small children who believe in magic and remind us of uncomplicated delight and the thrill of discovery. Whether you find eggs on a Seder plate, in your refrigerator, in a bird’s nest, under your chickens, or behind the cushions of the couch- may reminders of the ongoing miracles of life lift our hearts and give us courage, despite it all.
With anticipation of glorious colors and fancy Easter hats, yours,
Rev. Lee
To make an appointment with Rev. Lee, click here.
Email: RevLee@northparish.org
Phone: 978-687-7948