Here it is we find ourselves on a Monday morning again, the cycle of God’s creation always moving from one day to the next, one week, month, season, and year. Even with the cooler temperatures of early March, I’m noticing the longer days as we move closer toward the Spring equinox.
Did you know that Easter, the day each year we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, is calculated by the Spring? Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox (see page 15 of the Book of Common Prayer). That’s why it’s on a different day each year. The first time I shared this with someone, they laughed and said I was sounding quite pagan. Sometimes our fancy printed and electronic calendars cause us to lose sight of God’s intended rhythms and cycles.
The cycles and seasons of life, in creation and on our calendars, aren’t intended to keep us in an endless video loop or perpetual Groundhog Day but to ground us in God’s design. Nights with rest prepare us for dawn, the quiet and stillness of dawn enable us to hear God’s voice, the regular work of our days continuously builds God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The rest and worship of Sunday prepare and equip us for the days of the week to come. Winter prepares creation for the renewal of spring, spring brings rebirth and new growth as we journey through the growing season of Summer into the harvest of Fall.
This year, especially because so many of our own rhythms and cycles and seasons have been disrupted, focusing on the God designed rhythms around us will enable us to remain grounded in God’s Kingdom. As we move into Spring and toward Easter, let’s continue to ask God and ourselves what it is we need to stop looking behind us for.
Jesus once told someone who was contemplating following him, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.1” Following Jesus, coffee in hand and a growing awareness of God’s presence with us in all that we do, let’s continue to journey on earth as it is in heaven.
Together with God, let’s look toward what is to come: a new day, this day, today in God’s Kingdom, full of hope and love.
1I highly recommend Os Guinness’s book Carpe Diem Redeemed: Seizing the Day, Discerning the Times.
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 