The Daffodil Signal
As we look out at our pollen covered cars and the return of leaves to the trees, the relief of Spring brings an anticipation of Easter relief. I shared in my homily at our 5:00 service this past week the early signs of the imminence of spring when we lived in New York. One of the first flowers to show that the new life of blooming plants was on the way were the Daffodils. It was not uncommon to look at a bank along the road with snow still layered and see a little daffodil poking up through the shiny white surface, the yellow bloom standing out as a signal and promise of things to come. One of the things we did in my time there was to plant four bulbs at every tombstone in the ancient graveyard around the church. Our imagination was that the juxtaposition of the bright yellow flowers arriving at each grave would be a poignant cue for the promise of resurrection and new life for the whole community.
We in Houston have our version of this. The azaleas are bringing forth flowers, the birds have become loud in the morning, and trees throughout our neighborhoods have begun to bloom. And yet, we wait with communal bated breath for Holy Week. We know that a month from now we will be celebrating the greatest news we have ever been promised. We see the changes happening around us as Spring breaks forth and we wonder how God’s new life will bloom in us and in our lives through the promise of Easter. We look for ways to create fertile space in ourselves for new life to spring forth. We listen for all the ways that we need God’s redeeming grace and love so that when we finally arrive at that happy morning, we will know all the places God will heal us and make us whole.
Every year I am surprised by the miracle of spring. I wonder “Have the birds always been this prophetic and loud? Have the flowers always been this beautiful and fragrant?” I can’t wait to be surprised with you next month by an even greater joy. In the meantime, may Lent be a fertile pregnant place of preparation for new life to break forth.
We love you and God loves you,
Josh Condon+