By Rev Fiona Bennett (From Seeds April 2022)

We are about to move from the Season of Lent into the Season of Easter.

Easter is the time we celebrate that from death, new life is born; that from suffering, goodness can emerge; that hope cannot be ended.

It may seem, though, that at times reality has not caught up with the calendar. Just as in Narnia there was a time of winter but never Christmas, so the suffering and injustice in our lives and world may seem like Lent and never Easter.

In those times, this song from Natalie Sleeth holds hope for us, reminding us that every moment and situation in life contains potential for new life. It may not follow the shape or timing we think is a good idea, but it is there in God’s mind, unshakably real, shaped in love
and for love.

Throughout Jesus’ life many things did not turn out to be smooth, comfortable or pain free, but through it all he showed us what it is, in the midst of challenges and suffering, to trust in
God and to have faith in God’s justice and love.

This Easter, whether it brings experiences of new life or experiences which seem stuck in Lent, may we too find strength and courage in the hope of resurrection.

In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there’s a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there’s a dawn in every darkness
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.

Hymn by Natalie Sleeth, an American composer and hymn writer, Church Hymnary 4 #727