I’m writing to you on March 14, during the nor’easter. It is good to remember as the snow flies that nature is God’s artwork. Today God paints with frozen water, covering our part of the world with a blanket of white. In bleaker moments, our hearts may quail and tell us this storm will never end, the world will remain dark and gray, nature will continue her slumber forever. Thanks be to God for resurrection morning, which assures our fearful selves that life will come again, even when direct evidence seems to the contrary.
A community church in North Andover, Massachusetts
Easter
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.Charles Dickens
Every cold and dark phase ends and hence begins a beautiful phase of warmth and vibrance. Don’t believe? Just notice March.Anamika Mishra
Welcome to March and to the season of Lent, that period of waiting that began on February 22 with Ash Wednesday and continues for forty days until Palm Sunday, on April 2.
I am the resurrection and the lifeJohn 11:25
Dear Friends,
This is our first Easter together. How exciting that is! Looking back at John 20: 1 – 29, we have the wonderful story of Jesus appearing first to Mary and then to the disciples. Over the past two years with a raging pandemic, I think we can all appreciate Mary’s feeling of being utterly alone. We can also well understand the disciples locked in a room together for fear of what might come at them from the outside. We have felt locked away and isolated too.
Thine is the glory,
Risen conquering Son!
Endless is thy victory
Thou o’er death has won!
In the spring we see plants coming back to life with new green growth, and flowers, and the sweet scents of warmer air and sun. We see the birds and woodland critters becoming more active, some even after an entire winter’s sleep.
Spring is really here, even by the calendar. This has always been my favorite time of year. Autumn wouldn’t be so bad if it were followed by anything but winter, but spring is always pleasant because even if it snows, you know the cold is not going to last.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is Risen
Matthew 28:7
Dear Friends,
The above verse from Matthew’s gospel references what the women who went to Jesus’ burial place were told to do by an angel they met there. So the Easter message was about going and telling that Jesus had “risen” and that message came via an encounter with what were clearly spiritual beings. The rest of the story in Matthew tells us the women went from the tomb with fear and joy. Well … yeah! Fear of the unknown (I mean strange beings) and joy that Jesus, their teacher and friend, wasn’t dead anymore.