Invited Into New Life


 

After a beautiful and powerful Easter morning celebrating with the wonderful congregation I am blessed to serve, I took a walk in the late afternoon to stretch my legs and see what interesting sights there were to see. As I made this block and turned the corner, I saw this row of beautiful purple Iris. It was a stunning and beautiful surprise.
As I passed, it seemed as though I was literally walking into Spring. The air was warm, the breeze cool, the light held the definite feel of the seasonal change of the clocks. The flowers brought to mind that on the first Easter, it was in a garden where Mary Magdalene wept alone, waiting for the dawn. In my mind I imagined Jesus, walking out of the tomb into a resurrected life. Yes, as I passed these lovely flowers, I celebrated Easter all over again.
That is the thing about Easter, it is not a once a year experience. Easter is the proclamation that Jesus is alive and with us every day. Easter is the proclamation that nothing, not even death, can stop God’s love from reaching us. Easter is the proclamation that we, too, are invited into new life.
Paul writes, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” It is Spring once again. Why not give new life a try?
Peace.

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