I got me flowers to strew thy way;
I got me boughs off many a tree:
But thou wast up by break of day,
And brought’st thy sweets along with thee.The Sunne arising in the East.
Though he give light, and th’East perfume;
If they should offer to contest
With thy arising, they presume.Can there be any day but this,
Though many sunnes to shine endeavour?
We count three hundred, but we misse:
There is but one, and that one ever.– George Herbert (1593-1633)
This poem, by the the Anglican priest and poet, George Herbert, has “Easter” written all over it. As Herbert writes, there is nothing in the natural world – not flowers, or the branches of trees, and not even the sunrise – that can compare with the resurrection of Jesus. “If they should offer to contest / With thy arising, they presume.” I can remember singing this line back in seminary, as part of a musical setting by the great English composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams.
As I write this, it is still Good Friday and today we mark the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. And we would be wise and faithful to stop and reflect on the events of that hard day, long ago. But. . . Easter is on the way.
This Sunday for the 10 AM worship service, as has been our custom for the past few years, you are invited to bring some cut flowers to place on the Easter “Flower Cross” that will be at the front of the sanctuary. I admit that the Flower Cross is kind of a messy thing – with all kinds of colors and stems sticking out every-which-way. But there is a beauty to it all – transforming a bare wooden cross into something that is so full of life.
I will look forward to seeing all of you at church on Sunday as we celebrate the wondrous resurrection of Jesus. . .
Grace and Peace,
John
PS – Remember to bring any friends, neighbors, and family to our Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow (Saturday, April 4) at 4 PM!
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “When the Word Gets Out” (The Good News is. . . Alive in the World”
Read Psalm 118
Read Luke 24:1-5
Read Matthew 27:62-28:10
Read or sing Hymn # 246 – “Christ Is Alive”