"" Writer's Wanderings: Sunday Worship Thought

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sunday Worship Thought


It’s Palm Sunday. This is the beginning of Easter Week. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is a celebration of the coming of Spring as well. Our Easter traditions and stories of the resurrection of Jesus will be tied into the ideas of new birth, new life, regeneration, new beginnings—all those things associated with leaving the dead things of Winter behind and enjoying the new birth of plants and animals. Hopefully all of that will be evident as we see the green tips of daffodils and crocus poke through the leftover snow and then break out in splendid colors that celebrate the return of spring and summer.

It’s a little more difficult to tie in the resurrection story of Jesus with the change of the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere. As Easter approaches, so does their Autumn and Winter. While many places do not experience the harsh winters of the north, they still enter their drearier rainy season.

I had never considered the difference before until we talked about it with our hostess on Kangaroo Island as she drove us to the airport on the day we left. Somehow celebrating Christmas in the middle of Summer did not seem so bad but, as Dale said, tying in the story of the resurrection with the new birth and the seasonal change becomes a challenge. Perhaps it’s a reminder that Jesus is for all seasons and His story should transcend the boundaries we often create.

[The picture above is of a blossom from a type of eucalyptus tree on Kangaroo Island. The blossoms smell like honey and the trees are a favorite of the Ligurian bees.]

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