refreshment sunday

We're looking forward to this coming Sunday:  it's what's sometimes called "Refreshment Sunday" or "Rose Sunday," and it marks the halfway point of the Lenten journey.  Refreshment Sunday is a day set aside by the church to relax our Lenten discipline, whatever it may be, and drink deeply from the beauty of God and God's world.  A day to remember that, after all, even and especially in the midst of the wilderness we are saved by grace and not by works, fasts, discipline, or anything else on God's green earth.

It's a day to lighten up, to laugh, to go for a long walk, to look for signs of Spring, to give thanks, have a cupcake, watch a flower open, and believe again that God's love and life is overwhelming the world even now, even and especially now.

Let "Flower Lapse" be a beginning of your respite.  Think of it as a rest stop on the road trip, a slice of orange along the marathon course, a cool glass of water on the way. 

God of flowers and cupcakes, may our hearts open slowly to your grace today and for all our tomorrows.  In Jesus' sweet name, Amen.

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Thanks to Christoph Sullivan for this refreshing stop-motion!