New Life Awaits

 

As our congregation has made the Lenten journey together, we have witnessed a transformation in our sanctuary. We began the journey with displays of leafless sticks and branches, representing Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. Little by little, week by week, the displays have changed from lifeless to new growth to buds. As Easter draws near, we begin to see new life. On that day of celebration, the sanctuary will be fillled with lilies in full bloom. And, hopefully, we will have grown into new life ourselves.

As I walked through the sanctuary, the sun was coming through the cupola at just the right angle to illuminate one of the displays. It appeared as an art installation in a fine gallery. The lighting was just right. Yes, the colors were beautiful, but what was most powerful was it seemed the branches were reaching up, striving for the light. I found it a perfect image for the journey through Lent.

Paul writes to the followers of Jesus in Rome, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

We acknowledge our sin and mortality during these six weeks, not as punishment, but as a reminder that we can live into new life in the grace and love of God. Even in those times when we feel our most lifeless, new life awaits. Even when the sun does not shine into our situation, new life awaits. Even as we come face to face with our sin and failures, new life awaits. This is the message of Good News that the Church is blessed to offer to one and all. This is the message of Good News that we can experience for ourselves. This is the message of Good News that we can embody for the sake of others. New life awaits.

Peace.