"Spring"

Today is the beginning of "spring."  I use quotation marks, because this seasonal moniker appears to be a cruel ruse, at least here in the Northeast.  I shouldn't complain.  We in the Upper Valley of NH and Vermont are looking at temperatures in the 30s to 40s with sunshine tomorrow; our neighbors further south in Boston are facing up to 10 inches of snow.  So, happy "spring."

Still, despite my resort to ironic quotation marks, it is indeed spring.  Today is the vernal equinox.  It will get warmer, the snow will melt, new life will be born.  No matter what it looks like, the reality is spring weather is coming. And that brings us to Easter.

Our culture sees Easter as a day to fuss over bunny rabbits and to dye eggs.  A weird mix of commercialism and pseudo-pagan practice has emerged to give definition to this day for many people.  Yet we know better.  We know that Easter marks God's triumph over death in the person of the Resurrected Christ.  We know that the old rules no longer apply, that goodness and love and hope have prevailed.  We're still getting ready for the big day.   So let's focus on the opportunity Lent provides us.  We can still repent, still reflect, still pray.  We can still gird ourselves for the Passion.  We can be ready for Easter, which, to be honest, matters a lot more than "spring."

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