I love the spring!
There are so many reasons to like it. The grass comes up, and the flowers start to bloom. The trees start to bud, and the rain cleans off our sidewalks. It is also a time of birthdays. Mine is in May; Abi and Anna have their birthdays in April; and my soon-arriving son’s birthday will also be in the Spring.
These things are wonderful, but they are not what I love most. My favorite thing about the spring is what we celebrate during this portion of the church calendar.
The church calendar is something that is used world wide by Evangelical and non-Evangelical Christians to remind us of the truth of God’s word and the importance of remembering God’s actions on a daily basis. Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, and Easter draw attention to a victorious Jesus, and the pivot point of our lives and all of history.
On
Ash Wednesday, we remember that we are “from dust and to dust [we] will return” (Gen.3:19) Death is inevitable and it should call us to recognize our sin and realize our need for Jesus.
The season of
Lent occurs from Ash Wednesday to Easter (40 days minus Sundays). It is usually practiced by choosing something from which to fast. Some abstain from food, others from certain activities. Lent contributes to the season, by causing us to engage in the habit of remembering. How? Fasting makes you hungry. In a fast, every time we hunger for that food or activity, we remember why we are fasting. We remember that the crucifixion is coming, and that the resurrection is near. Fasting during the lenten season causes us to remember the gospel. The entire season is building up to the day of the year that we celebrate Jesus’s decisive victory over death, and the new life that we gain as we are united to him.
Good Friday, is both a day of great sadness and of great joy. The just king is killed in a horrible and horrific manner. The disciples were confused, and his followers disillusioned. But that is thankfully not the end of the story.
On
Easter morning, the women arriving at the tomb, noticed that the stone had been rolled away, and the tomb was empty! Easter is not just about colored eggs, candy, pictures, and Easter dresses. It is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our king Jesus.
The resurrection, like spring is the closing of one season of history and the beginning of a new one. Winter is the season characterized by cold weather, lifeless trees, and dead grass, but it is being replaced by a season full of life... the spring. In the spring, everything comes back to life, just like the resurrection. Everything is being made new.
As Christians, we are part of what was made alive in the resurrection. By being united to Jesus, our hearts overflow with life. We are the shoots of dead grass that the spring has breathed new life into. Green everywhere, life everywhere. The resurrection is the source of our being a new creation. It is the crowning of a just, true, good, and grace-filled king. It proves that there is nothing for us to fear, because he to whom we have pledged our allegiance has defeated death.
Our grass is beautiful! Since we did some planting and fertilizing in the fall, we have a really healthy stand of grass now. It was definitely worth the work it took to make it happen. Other than the dandelions and a couple bare spots our field looks really good and ready for some soccer or ultimate frisbee. It also means we have mowing to do. 
