Springtime

Today's bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 50s have me thinking about spring. Walking about this morning, I felt as if a peek at the calendar would reveal a date in mid-April, not late-November. While this may seem odd approaching the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, it actually strikes me as being spot on during this season of Advent.

Spring has long been associated with rebirth -- and what is it we celebrate on Christmas? The birth of the Christ child -- and with the arrival of that infant in a manger, the rebirth and renewal of creation. You see, Advent isn't just about readying ourselves to remember an event from long ago but preparing ourselves to celebrate a new beginning, a new birth, God's new spring, this very day.

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