Let your Church be the wheat which bears its fruit in dying.

 

This is part of our Lenten fraction sentence – what we say as we break the bread during Holy Communion, before all are fed. It draws heavily from John 12:24-25.

The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word for “springtime.” Lent (and Easter) coincides with springtime in the Northern hemisphere. So, our journeying with Jesus through the desert, from the cross to the empty tomb, is usually accompanied by the earth waking up, coming back to life, putting forth shoots, buds, and blooms.

This reminds us that though Lent is often serious, with fasting, prayer, penitence and self-reflection, Lent is also the springtime of the soul. We face death, but it is only through dying that the seed bears fruit. It is only after the long, quiet rest of winter that Spring comes again.

Treasure, tend and nurture the seeds that God has planted: in your heart and life, in your family and friends, in our church and in the community, so that good things may flourish and grow.


Thanks be to God!

 

CG+