Celebrating Rebirth

Easter is this Sunday and it is a time when we celebrate resurrection and rebirth. It is not an accident that it comes in the springtime. I am always happy and relieved when spring finally arrives. During winter the nights are long, the sky is dark, and the land is barren. Just about at the point when you think you can’t take anymore—spring arrives and brings with it the sunshine, chirping birds, and flowering trees. After the long and dark winter, we are so ready to burst out of our tomb and experience renewed warmth, light and life.

I just came back from Florida where it felt like summer; it was hot, sunny and in the high 80’s. Every day, while I was basking in the warmth of the sun, I would look at the weather on my laptop computer and notice that it was in the 30’s back in Fayetteville. Now that I’m back home it is cloudy and rainy, yet Easter is only days away. It just goes to show you that you can’t always rely on outer circumstances to tell you the truth. Even though it is gray and cold outside, if you look closely you can see the buds on the trees and the flowers blooming. Spring is here regardless of the current weather pattern.

Easter represents the soul’s rebirth. Just like the urge within each seed that propels it upward through the hard soil, there is an urge within each of us that pushes us beyond our current limitations into expansion and spiritual growth. Just as the seed grows first in the darkness of the soil, our growth too begins in the inner tomb of silence. The plant sprouts and grows with loving attention and the proper nutrients of sun and water. Our soul also advances in growth when our loving attention is focused on the Divine Presence within us (the Son) and is continually nurtured through prayer and meditation.

Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus came to show us all that regardless of the rain, wind, and storms of life—even death itself, we are not limited—we are alive and brimming with life. Just as the plant appears to die away each year only to reappear in the spring with new life, so it is with each of us. Regardless of the long dark nights of our soul, if we keep our attention focused on the Son and nurture that divinity within us we too will begin to see the sprouting of new birth giving rise in our consciousness.

No matter how empty or dark your life might seem, resurrection is always ready and waiting for you to claim it. As for me, I’ve been hanging out in the emptiness of the tomb for months now waiting to find my right and perfect church. I am hopeful that it, like Easter, is right around the corner.

Happy Spring, and Blessed Easter! May we each experience a renewal and rebirth of Divine Life.