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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Death to life, living in the season of Easter

Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, 1 John 3:1-7, Luke 24:36b-48
Third Sunday of Easter

In this Season of Easter (and a little prior), I have been meditating on the phrase "all things new."
I think about it as I let chicken bones sit in a slow-cooker of water for a day or two. I think about it as we take eggshells that we normally would have thrown away, and fill them with soil and plant seeds in them. I think about it as we throw food scraps in a bucket for compost. I think about it as we are at a time of transitioning from one field of work into another. I think about as we see buds and blooms and other signs of Spring as the weather warms up and the days get longer.
What was thought to be dead and done is being made new! Jesus was dead in the tomb, and on the third day he rose from the dead. He is alive! 
Each of the passages today talks about the forgiveness of sins. The world is broken because of sin. People are broken. But take heart, Jesus is making all things new! He will fix our brokenness and redeem us. We will be a new creation! Much like a plant is no longer a seed, and compost is no longer scraps of things you were going to throw away.
I was reading an article about composting (I am a newbie), and I was struck by how it is so very parallel to Easter. You throw your food scraps (and coffee grounds, and lint, and shredded paper, etc) into the bucket (or pile, or wherever you keep your compost), and let time pass as it decomposes and decays and finally turns into the most wonderful, life-giving dirt. Not only is it important to have in your garden, it is essential for giving your soil nutrients and life! Compost, in death, brings life. Boom. Easter.


                  Compost bucket

As my family starts this new adventure of gardening and composting, and continues on our journey of living simply and minimally, I look forward to the ways it helps me to read, meditate upon, and understand Scripture.

Happy Third Sunday of Easter! Jesus is alive!