It is amazing how much can change in only a few days.
Our backyard transformed from a white oasis of untouched snow into a quagmire of brown water and a thick mucky mess. For the next week we tried everything from car washing gloves picked up at the Dollar Store to a ‘Paw Washing Cup’ purchased at the pet shop. But no matter what we did muddy paw prints were continually trailed throughout the house. Finally, out of complete frustration we took a few tall garden stakes along with some snow fencing and circled off the muddy part of the backyard.
What happened next was completely unexpected.
We didn’t notice the transformation until Holy Week and one afternoon I wandered out behind the garage to discover the muddy patch had transformed completely. What had been the cause of much frustration now had blossomed into a cornucopia of bobbing spring jubilation; a carpet of crocuses now covered the muddy spot.
I stood there completely stunned. We had never planted crocuses in this muddy patch and yet, there they stood defying the cold north wind, the deep muck and the complete obscurity of the space. How very Easter of them!
In church we tell ourselves we are an Easter people, quoting St. Augustine who preached, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our hymn of praise!”
As those who follow Jesus not only into the Palm Parade but also through the painful mucky mess of an unthinkable crucifixion, followed by days of darkness and then back out into the light of resurrection, we are a people who live Easter lives.
As those who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are the ones called to bring new life in areas that seem lifeless; feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely and lifting up the fallen and we do it to the glory of a Creator God, who can turn muck into life.
We are the blooming crocuses in the muddy patches of life!
Happy Easter
