March 21st, 2024 

Beloveds in Christ, 
I woke up this morning with a reminder of what a typical late winter/early spring looks like in Maine: About three inches of snow had fallen overnight. Before this morning, there hadn’t been snow on the land where we live in days, maybe even weeks. As the dogs and I have walked through the squishy muck that was once our yard, I’ve seen evidence of a spring that is coming far too early: daffodil shoots creeping up around the front of the house, grass greening in the warm spot by the woodshed, fuzzy pussywillow catkins blooming weeks before I expected them (though still in time for our very early Palm Sunday this year).  

I am usually delighted by the first flowers of spring. Their return gets me through mud season. But, this year, it just seems too early... too early in a way that is foreboding. I’ve lived here long enough to know that sometimes not enough snow means not enough water. And, the rainy, windy storms of December and January did real damage to homes and natural areas across the state, mine included. This was the warmest winter our country has seen since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration started keeping records 130 years ago.  
Picture
When I showed up at church this morning, and began to put sand out on the parking lot and sidewalk, I found these foot prints of the church neighbors preserve in the ice. All of the snow had melted around them, but you could still see evidence of all the morning's foot traffic. - Pastor Chrissy

Spring seems early and all I can think is, “No. This is not the right time. Something is wrong.” As we look towards Palm Sunday and Holy Week, I can have some empathy for the disciples. They witness Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city while also knowing something bad is about to happen. Jesus even told them that pain was on the horizon, and yet they seem unable to wrap their head and hearts around what he says. Even though Jesus tried to prepare them for what happens next, they feel caught off guard.  It is as though they are thinking: Something is wrong. This can’t be what is supposed to happen.  

Sandra Van Opstal wrote in the Chasing Justice Lenten devotional, “Lent invites solidarity with one another.” I believe Holy Week can do the same. This week, we will make a way for Jesus as he enters the city, humbly, and is met with great joy. We’ll share a meal together, remember the meal he shared with his friends, even the ones who will betray him. And, we will hear of Christ crucified, a death he had foretold would happen. We who worry about a warm winter and early spring know something about being surprised by an event that we have been warned will happen. Maybe we knew that it could happen. But, did it have to happen this fast?  

Thankfully, the Easter we await reminds us that death and destruction to not have to be the end. Easter reminds us that something beautiful can grow in the dark. Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay describes The Resurrection as “an amazing and relentless love that refuses to abandon humanity or any part of creation to destruction and despair.” As followers of Christ, we’re called to live like we know this boundless love is real, and work for the thriving of our kin in creation.  
It is two days past the Spring Equinox. There is new snow on the ground and more on the way. The Resurrection is coming. May we ready ourselves to greet New Life as it comes,  
Pastor Chrissy 

*Here's an article about the overly warm winter: https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-had-its-warmest-winter-on-record 
*Here's the Chasing Justice Lenten Devotional: https://chasingjustice.com/dust-to-dust-lenten-invitation-to-liberation/  

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