Meditations on March

March is here! For me, that's a statement of optimism and triumph. It means that winter is nearly over and spring is just round the corner. March is known for its winds but that doesn't matter. The important thing, as far as I am concerned, is that it is getting lighter and warmer. To prove it, there are a few trees in blossom and the birds get up before I do in the morning. (That's the way it should be!)

March also brings Mother's Day, Red Nose Day, the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar and Easter. There are probably lots of other occasions too but adding more would only add to the complexity of the month. That's enough for me.

How are we meant to make sense of such a roller coaster? On week one, it's all flowers, chocolates and hugs. There'll be poems and sentimental words and there'll also be tears. Mother's Day is a wonderful excuse to remember to thank the one who brought us into the world. For a mother, the giving of oneself in just doing the tiring, draining, everyday things for one's child can be the greatest expression of love; but those are the things that we most often take for granted and for which we least often remember to say, 'Thank you.' Mother's Day may be touched by commercial exploitation but we can make it into something that will be genuinely appreciated by some of the people who need the encouragement the most.

A few days later, there'll be funny hair and red noses at every turn. That will all be accompanied by a strange mixture of comedy and pathos. Stand-up comedians have investigated heart-rending stories in the depths of Africa. Comedy sketch writers have found themselves waxing lyrical about the iniquity of ingrained poverty. Sit-com actors have spent time with abused children and traumatised elders. It just goes to prove that our sense of humour is God-given. Humour lightens the load of sadness and enables us to see the possibilities of change for the better. Humour also unlocks our wallets like few other things can - and, in this case, that has to be good.

Only four days later, and the ides of March blow in, like an icy northerly wind. March 15th has gone down in folklore as an evil time to go calling on friends who might not turn out to be as loyal as one would have liked. There was little that was humorous in Julius' agonised cry of, 'Et tu, Brute?' It is a story of the abuse of power, the betrayal of so-called friends and the double-dealing nature of politics. When Shakespeare wrote his play, 'Julius Caesar', he had the lead character killed before the play was even halfway through.

When John wrote his Gospel of Jesus, he spent one third of the book describing the events of just two days - the last two days of Jesus' earthly life. So William Shakespeare and the Apostle John have some surprising literary similarities; but that's not all. Good Friday is the story of an abuse of power, the betrayal of so-called friends and the double-dealing nature of politics. There, the similarity ends and the closeness of the two deathly anniversaries fades. Easter is the high point of the Christian calendar for a good reason. It is traditionally ushered in with cries of 'Hallelujah!' and happy, smiling faces. Easter Day lightens the load of sadness that Good Friday lays upon us. It doesn't just enable us to see possibilities of change: it demonstrates, with incontrovertible power, that God changes death to life, He covers sin with grace and He restores relationships that seemed beyond repair.

Easter rises up at the end of the month of March with a hymn of glorious triumph. It's a wonderful day to remember to say, 'Thank you,' to the One who brought us into eternal life, with the greatest expression of love possible:

'Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.'
(John 15:13)

Liz

Comments

[David,Denise,Daniel& Jessica]

Hello everyone, hope you are all well? we are all ok.We still haven't found a new church yet,but you are still in are thoughts afterall you were are spiritual home,please keep us posted about new things happening at Howard st,ie,how the sunday schools doing etc. please get in touch soon.D,D,D,&J

[Brian]

Hi all
hope you are doing ok. we were all down in whitby the other weekend for a church trip. was good. We had never been before (mary and i) and thought it very nice, pretty place and 199 steps. was full of goths for their festival when we were there. we thought we might see stan and sylvia, but we didn't.
byeeeee