A visitor on Easter Sunday told me that Easter was their favorite day of the year.  I asked, “Why is that?”.  They said, “Well with all the sadness in the world I think we deserve one day of happy news!”  I couldn’t agree more.  Except that having one day a year to celebrate happy news seems a bit defeatist.  Why settle for one day?  At Easter we proclaim that in the resurrection of Jesus, God has conquered sin and death forever.  So why not see that proclamation everyday?  As the angel said to the women at the tomb, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  In other words, if you’re always staring into a tomb, of course all you will only see is death!  So, look for the living! The good news is that Easter is not just one day.  Easter is a season that lasts for 7 weeks.  So lets make it our objective to look for life.  Where do you see life?  Where do you see the signs of the kingdom near you?  How are you pointing it out to others?  Here’s a wonderful poem I found that helps me to see life everyday.  I hope it helps you too.  Alleluia! Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia.   
Rev. Rob+
Everything is thank you if you look carefully.
The trees that lose their leaves still raise their limbs.
The earth farewells the sun and moves around again.
Those we love draw tears and smiles from us in unison.
Everything is grace and begins again.
We know this because each new day speaks of redemption.
Because Peter denied his friend and was forgiven.
Because the sleep that restores us, in a small way reflects the resurrection.
Each small death, brings life, and each gift of surrender, is an offering.
A down payment for the new day coming.
For every Friday is followed by a Sunday.
And every empty grave formerly held something.
Yes everything is thank you if you look carefully.
Everything in nature, love and life reveals the resurrection.
He who bore our sin, pain and grief lives again.
And our cross, so hard to bear we find lifts us to heaven.
Yes everything that happens we can thank him. For we know our story lives in his, without an ending.
Ana Lisa de Jong
April 2017

For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.
Song of Solomon 2:11-13 (NRSV)
As I write this reflection I am staring at the remnants of a long cold winter.  Dirty brown piles of snow sit at the end of the driveway.  A plastic grocery bag hangs on a tree branch for dear life flapping in the wind.   My salt coated winter boots sit by the garage door next to the snow shovel as a reminder of what these past months have been.   Then I read this passage from the Song of Solomon and I ask, “Is it safe to celebrate spring? Am I living in a reasonable hope that the winter is past and that there is warmth and new life about to spring forth? Or am I setting myself up for disappointment only to be pulled back into the biting wind on my face? I’m probably being a bit over dramatic here, but those of us who live in this unpredictable climate know full well how we can get excited about spring only to be reminded that mother nature can still pack a punch if she wants to.  
Our walk with God can seem similar.  Are we living in a reasonable hope that the world God loves will be redeemed? Are the signs of the reign of God that Jesus says to look for really among us; or are we just setting ourselves up for another disappointment. We know our world is vulnerable and often times unstable, so maybe its best just to wait for another blast and accept the possibility that it will probably turn bad once again?  
These are the questions we carry into holy week.   Just as the disciples did when the hope they found in Jesus ended up on a cross.  Just as the women did when they came to anoint a body inside a tomb? It’s OK for us to wonder, to wrestle, to doubt because it is our nature to do so.  Yet while we do, let’s do so in the knowledge that the God who created us for himself has something to say to us in our doubt and in our angst.  Let’s walk this holy week road with an awareness that God may want to spoil our expectations and break through our uncertainty with something new for us. Stay tuned. A new season is about to come!
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