We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Romans 6:9

What Does it Mean to Be Easter People?

I love when there are flowers in the sanctuary. If you know me, you know that this comes with the challenge of allergies for me, but it doesn’t change the truth: I love growing things! Lilies, Tulips, Hyacinths, and every fresh-cut flower Michele folds into our lovely Sunday displays on the Communion Table.

I don’t love the pollen, no. What I love is the beauty of each blossom and what they symbolize. Flowers are rebirth. A seed or a bulb goes into the ground, and it comes back reborn: alive again, a survivor from death, a resurrection (of sorts). 

Resurrection brings possibility, and if you’re an Easter Person, you’re someone who realizes that death is a path to new life. Old ways must step aside for new, old habits must relent to new habits, and sometimes relationships must crumble for new relationships to thrive. 

The toll if, of course, is grief. 

Don’t think for a second that the disciples were jumping around celebrating when the tomb was empty. I’ll bet it took a long time for the joy to return to their hearts. And it probably took even longer for them to understand it all. But through that death, resurrection became possible. 

I hope you’ll see flowers in a new light this week. I hope you’ll consider what it is in your life that has died to allow you to live. And when you feel grief letting go of the old, remember that it was the seed that made new life bloom again.