It’s that time of year again… the clocks have been moved forward, AI is on Spring Break, and the weather is teasingly warm! Spring is almost here. And I, for one, cannot wait! There’s just something special and beautiful and wonderful about this time of year. The sun is out longer, the flowers and trees are starting to bud, the warmer temperatures coax everyone and their mother out of doors… life and light are everywhere! And after a long, cold, dreary winter, that’s exactly what we all need!
Of course, this time of year is also a preparation for Easter, and those dreary, rainy, chilly days of early Spring remind us of this time of anxious waiting. Lent indeed is both a time of sorrow and of joy, a time of sadness and a time of hope. One of my favorite passages which applies well to this time of year comes from Joyce Rupp’s Praying Our Goodbyes. Basically, Rupp says that Lent without Easter isn’t enough. The suffering and sadness of Christ’s passion aren’t complete without the Resurrection. Lent must be, above all, a hope-filled time. Because hidden in the darkness of a flower bud or the grayness of a rainy day is something beautiful which is about to break forth in all its glory. Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection have made all things new and how can we do anything but prepare in joyful anticipation for that glorious day when we will share with Christ more fully in his great gift of new and eternal life?
Have a blessed and hope-filled Lent.
