Hope.

Today is the day after the resurrection.  Lent has ended, and now we begin a new week in a new season.  Liturgically, this is a joyful time for us, and nature responds as well: spring is upon us.  The plants are making their journey upwards for yet another year, as their bright green shoots bring forgotten colors back to the dark soil after months of rest.  The squirrels are running around campus again (well, technically they never really stopped…) and all around us we are surrounded by the joy of new life.  Yet for many, despite all this beauty, this time of year becomes a time of stress.  For students, the year is nearing its end, and while that brings a certain level of excitement, it is not without an appropriate dose of reality.  Inevitably it seems, the last month involves final projects, term papers, last minute assignments, and of course, final exams.  In the “real world” as I like to refer to it still, taxes are only days away.  It can be very easy to become distracted by these pressures or even to despair a bit at the drudgery of the looming work to be done.  The “Easter was great, but now its over, back to the grind” type of attitude. 

I’ve certainly been guilty before, but the first reading today reminds us of what is truly important.  This truly is one of the most joyous times for us, because Jesus has just eliminated death forever!  We have nothing more to despair for and everything to look forward to– we can look confidently forward to an eternal life and our “flesh too will dwell in hope” (Acts 2:22).  It is an exciting prospect that can be easy to forget about in the present.  Hence, for this week I will challenge myself, and I encourage you as well, that when we see a new plant sprouting up, baby animals, or new life in any form, we let those signs be a reminder for us of what God has promised for us.  That in seeing those forms of new life we consider what a magnanimous gift we have been given and are filled with hope and joy in Him.  That we will attend to our earthly tasks in due form, but make sure to “[see] the Lord ever before [us]” and align our priorities accordingly.