In Winter (First Sunday of Lent)

The first story in my RSS news feed this morning was "Why Does Hair Turn Gray." It was quite something to contemplate as I sat in my kitchen, watching snow fall on this first day of March. The sky was overcast, the snow was white, and scientists were promising me that if I lived long enough, I would have a head full of gray hair. It has been a long winter around here, in many ways.

But as ready as I am for spring, I cannot rush the seasons. I must continue to sit with winter, with the barrenness, and with the gray skies. I must continue to endure the cold temperatures and the snow storms, because winter is a preparing ground for the bountiful spring ahead. Winter, despite its appearance, is a fertile sowing ground for so much that is to come.

Lent asks that we not leap too quickly ahead to the glorious Easter moment. We love the notion of the triumphant Christ entering into the city of Jerusalem, whom we celebrate with the giving of palms. We love the notion of the resurrected Christ, whom we celebrate with praise and thanksgiving on Easter morning. But can we identity with the lonely Christ, who faces temptation in the desert; the Christ who faces a gray winter in the wilderness?

Let us sit with winter for a little while longer...spring is surely coming, but winter is still fertile ground.