April 12, 2007
I commented at the Easter Sunday morning services about the irony of getting snow in North Texas on the 7th day April. Those of us who grew up in this area are quite used to our traditional Easter "cold snaps," but this one set a record. I can't help but think of all those times that we have hoped for a white Christmas with no results, and then this year we get a white Easter!
I confess to being a bit disappointed. Clouds and cool breezes aren't the kind of meteorological reinforcement that I hope for when preaching the Resurrection message of new life and hope. And yet it goes to prove the point that we are called to celebrate God's Good News in all conditions, even amidst disappointment.
I recall a day that I experienced earlier in the year. I was in a really good mood, and I was anticipating a very good week. Everything was in place. And then suddenly and quite unexpectedly I ran into a very bad piece of luck. It seemed bizarre to me that something so perverse could have so dramatically interfered with my plans at that time. It was like getting hit by a lightning bolt on a sunny day! You have probably had that kind of experience: the unexpected diagnosis, the dreaded phone call, the next day at the office that turned out to be your last day at the office.
As I think about it there is something pretty powerful about celebrating Easter on a day that is shrouded with clouds. It is our way of saying that God's power overcomes the worse that life can hand to us, even death upon a cross; that God's love prevails even during the bad stretches of life; that nothing, not even an unexpected norther, can stop the inevitable arrival of Spring and New Life. Take a drive and see for yourself: the cold snap was only temporary. The warming of the earth, the greening of the landscape, the blooming of flowers and trees was inevitable and unstoppable.
