Dear Brothers, Sisters and friends of Immanuel,
I just came back from taking the dogs to the park for a walk. And since it is warm and the sun is shining, I decided to also explore the back yard to see what Mother Nature is up to today – the first day of Spring. The Lenten Roses are blooming – beautiful yellow and purple flowers hugging the dirt with their heads bowed, seemingly in prayer. The forsythia is about ready to burst open with yellow flowers, daffodils, are pushing up the heads, though still closed in sleep. The daylilies are starting to take a stand, even though they are still buried in piles of winter’s leaves. Even the tulips and iris and all the other woodland flowers are beginning to rouse from their winter slumber.
Spring has sprung. However, while nature’s calendar tells us it is spring, our church calendar reminds us we are still deep in the season of Lent. What I’ve experienced today seems more like resurrection Easter than the lamentations of Lent. But spring for me has always been a season of hope – and hope is what we are anticipating as we move towards Holy Week and Easter.
Hope as in the assurance that even though we will remember Jesus’ death on Good Friday, we will celebrate the hope that is Christ Jesus risen on the third day.
But just like it is necessary to know darkness so that we can appreciate the light, so too is it necessary for us to experience the meditative time of Lent to appreciate the joy of the Easter season.
And so – I invite you all to continue to join with me in our Lenten journey, with worship on Wednesdays and Sundays. Join with me in celebrating the excitement of Palm Sunday, the somber Maundy Thursday, the grief of Good Friday. And then let us celebrate together the joy of the resurrection, the joy and hope, the assurance, that because of Jesus’ death, we are a forgiven people.
I HOPE to see you all in worship….
Yours in Christ.
Pr. Vicki