"Ready to spring" by Mike Lewinski on flickr
I feel fortunate to live in a part of the world where spring is just beginning to come around during the season of Lent. We considered darkness during the beginning of the Prayer of Thanksgiving and it was so vivid, with the darkness of winter still fresh in my mind. Even though this morning was a snowy one, we could feel spring in the air. And when Huda talked about seeds during the children's story, I knew that outside beneath the snow, the tulip bulbs were gathering their strength to make their appearance soon.
What brought it together for me was the liturgy we read at the end:
Like the Israelites, we foolishly complain. We love the darkness rather than the light. God challenges us to live in the light rather than in darkness. God challenges us to stop indulging ourselves and ignoring the needs of others. God challenges us to do the work that we are called to do, willingly and cheerfully.
As Jesus explained to the disciples (John 12:24), unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. We weren't made to be seeds. We were made to stretch outside of the comfortable dark soil, and to grow into plants feeding on the light. Huda talked about how our aversion to pain makes us want to protect ourselves and so we forget to look at those around us. But Jesus taught us that we need to stretch and grow and look at those around us, to be willing to be uncomfortable in order to show God's love to those around us.
Maureen R.