We cleaned out our sun room today and now can start some seeds for later planting outside. When the sun is out there is plenty of heat in the sun room for plants but I put a small space heating for the cooler nights. Let’s hope this slightly more heat, 40’s −60’s, last for awhile or grows into spring weather.

Holy Week, this week, reminds me of why Jesus died. We used this question for faith sharing this morning and there were interesting comments and insights. For years I was confused and upset at the common statement that Jesus died for our sins. For me to say God send the person of Jesus on earth to be killed is like saying God is an abusive parent. When I went back to school in the 90’s for Pastoral Studies at Loyola in Chicago, I had a scripture scholar teacher who had the same concerns I did about saying God sent Jesus to be killed. The way she explained it and backed it up with historical and scriptural scholarship is that God sent Jesus to show us the Way, Truth and Light and how we can return to God. Jesus was true to his mission, doing God’s will, although that meant upsetting the Jewish and Roman hierarchy of the time.

Jesus kept true to his message even when it meant riding triumphal into Jerusalem on an ass, as it was predicted by the prophets the Messiah would do and turning over the tables of moneychangers and vendors who were in the Temple, a sacred place. He was accused of being the “King of Jews”, treason for Romans and killed like any other common criminal was killed, on a cross in public sights. The Romans rule, like all empires, with fear and if was not for the Resurrection this tactic might have worked.

I was reminded today that generally there is hardly any remembrance in history of the losers, the oppressed, the forgotten, the broken, and the victims— like Jesus of Nazareth. But today many in the world know of Jesus, not as “King of Jews” but as a holy man who lived in Palestine during the Roman Empire and by his cross and resurrection triumphed over evil and the Empire.

In my own simple life I have a hard time with insults, injury or being ignored. I forget the nonviolent example of how Jesus dealt with rejection and suffering, taking in on to himself, loving his enemy and by love, even love unto death, overcoming.

The death and darkness of winter is fading away into spring of life and light. Almost everything changes but some things, like dying and rising, winter to spring remain the same.

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