The Winds of Spring

       

       The sudden abundance of spring is always a surprise to me.  I am always amazed at the quantity and quality of change happening all around us; there is so much new life, new possibilities, and new growth.  We have waited so long for it this year and it has come so suddenly that it is almost overwhelming.  On the last Friday of April, we were astonished at the amount of snowmelt from the beginning of Bible study until we were finished. 

        Spring changes everything; even the air smells different and it is so delightful those first times you get to open up the windows.  The stale, dry, heated air of winter is replaced with air that feels alive with possibilities.  When the ground thaws and the snow melts and or with the first rains, the soil gets an earthy, fresh smell that almost begs to be planted.  It smells like new life.  And that’s just the air.

        Then there are all the other changes, the length of the days, the frozen ground that turns to dark mud and then gradually begins to grow again.  It always sneaks up on me, it seems as though in one day the grass has gone from dormant browns and grays to green – with bits of yellow dandelions thrown in for bright contrast!  The trees and bushes take on their green more slowly.

        The birds have been waiting just as impatiently for spring, it seems and now they are rejoicing as much as anyone else.  There must have been a migrating flock of robins the other day for there were scores of them all in one place the other day.  I have never seen so many robins at once before.  And of course, with the fields melting and the flood coming, the waterfowl have been following the rivers on their southern migration.  In the past couple of weeks, I have seen Canadian and snow geese, mallard, wood, teal, and all kinds of ducks and coots, swans, white pelicans, and loons.  I’m sure the farmers are anxious for the water and waterfowl to leave the fields so they can begin planting.  It will be late this year.

        All of this change, new life, and new possibilities are such an appropriate setting for the seasons of the church year as we finish out the 50 days of Easter celebration and celebrate the birth of the church on Pentecost Sunday, May 12th.  We will hear again the story of how the Holy Spirit blew through the temple that day and filled the disciples of Jesus Christ, changing them from a scared and timid band of grieving friends to the leaders of a movement that went on to change the world.  I wonder if the air had that same spring smell of new possibilities that is blowing outside these days.

        What of us?  Are we ready to let the fresh air of the Holy Spirit blow through our house and change our lives?  Can we make room for new life and new growth or will we hang on the brown and dormant old growth of times past?

        Change is never easy because like spring, we are not in control and we never know when and where the changes will happen and what the changes will be.  About all that can be promised is that like spring, if we let the Spirit of God blow through, we will be amazed and surprised by God’s love and abundance.

        In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (by C.S. Lewis), Lucy asks the lion Aslan (the Christ figure in the stories, The Chronicles of Narnia) why didn’t things happen they way they did before.  Aslan answers that things never happen the same way twice.  We have to learn and we have to trust in God.  The Pentecost of Spring invites us to let God blow through our lives and breathe in the promise of new life and always the abundance of God’s love.

       "What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."  John 3: 6-8

Look for the Helpers

     

       
       The day after the bombing at the Boston Marathon, a quote from Mr. Rogers spread like wildfire around the web.  "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping."
       It is a wonderful response to children and adults alike in the face of such tragedy and obviously, many, many people found it comforting in the hours and days during that week.
       The quote became even more poignant as I watched the video of the bombs going off and watched as people (including Boston police and those working the marathon) ran toward the site of the blasts even as others ran away seeking safety.  Then on that Thursday, volunteer firefighters in the small town of West, Texas ran to the fertilizer plant to take on that fire.  They were joined by professional firefighters from surrounding communities but 14 people were killed, hundreds were injured and many homes were destroyed in the explosion.  I am in awe and humble thanksgiving for helpers in such times and places as these.
       I have been seeing other helpers around where I live these days.   As winter finally gave way to spring and snow melted, people all around the Red River Valley prepared for what was forecasted as a record flood.  Preparations began a few weeks ago with the call for volunteers to come to "sandbag central" in Fargo to make over a million sandbags.  Controversy hit the news when radio commentator Ed Schultz spoke of the use of student volunteers as "slave labor".  Obviously, he's not from around here.
       Here, students must get permission slips signed, dress for work, and volunteer for the job.  Last week, when my own confirmation students came into class sweaty and exhausted, they were proud of their blisters and aches.  It is one of the few enough times and places when their participation is valued and needed as equally as any adults.  And, they have all seen and experienced fighting floodwaters; the Red River has flooded 4 times in the last five years.  (Last year's drought has been the only recent time out.)  
       As it looks now, the impact of this year's flood will be small because thanks to the snail's pace of the weather change, much of the snow melt was slow and seems to have soaked in. This doesn't lessen the need for preparedness or the work that was done.  Any change in the weather or precipitation and things could have been very different.
       Today, I got to experience the work of other helpers.  I took time out from working in the office to join the women quilting in the fellowship hall.  They were busy trying to get the last quilts finished for the season, tying the last of over 200 quilts that will go to Lutheran World Relief and other ministries.  From under 60 to over 90, those hands have been busy through the winter, sewing, pinning and tying quilts that become visible signs of God's love.
         When I shared Mr. Rogers' words in conversation, someone made the comment, that it was too bad that "the Church" couldn't have spoken with as much impact in the days that followed the marathon.  
       It did.  Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister who studied and was ordained with the charge to continue his ministry with children.  His quiet faith surely showed.  I can't think of a better assurance of the love and peace of God. 
        But if people don't know that about him, does it still count as witness?  As we heard again this last week, the world will know that we belong to God not by the jewelry we wear or  the words we say but by how we love one another.  Whether named or not, when those in need, pain, and fear look to the helpers, they will see God's love.  
       "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  John 13:34-35