All Shall Be Well
One of my favorite folk songs is “Julian of Norwich” written by Sydney Carter. Julian lived through the Black Death. Half of the people in her community died. Her words brought comfort to those survivors who suffered incredible losses: “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” Carter weaves Julian’s words together with the experience of daffodils poking up through the snow bringing hope for the spring.
“Love, like the yellow daffodil, is coming through the snow.
Love, like the yellow daffodil, is Lord of all I know.
Ring out, bells of Norwich, and let the winter come and go
All shall be well again, I know.
Ring for the yellow daffodil, the flower in the snow.
Ring for the yellow daffodil, and tell them what I know.
Ring out, bells of Norwich, and let the winter come and go
All shall be well again, I know.
All shall be well, I’m telling you, let the winter come and go
All shall be well again, I know.”
We need to hear and to believe that all shall be well again. It has been a traumatic year. As we approach spring, we begin to feel the first nudges of hope, like a yellow daffodil coming through the snow!
Moving through Holy Week toward Easter we leave behind death and sorrow as we approach joy and resurrection. If ever there was a year to find joy and resurrection it is this year!
COVID struck our world like a hammer shattering glass. There has been so much sickness and pain and death. We are all ready for a little bit of hope to bring the broken pieces of our world back together. It will never be the same, but God can make a profoundly beautiful mosaic from the pieces of our lives.
Easter comes bringing with it the promise of new life. Just like that yellow blossom poking up through the snow, our souls are longing for the chance to absorb the energy of the sun and to bloom with joy. We want more than anything to bring beauty and grace to this world with hopes that it will dispel the shadows and despair.
Much as we will miss gathering with our congregation in person to sing the Hallelujah Chorus and declare together that Christ the Lord is Risen today, we will remember that the first Easter was a small, private event. There were not huge crowds, there were no trumpets, no organ, no Easter Lilies, not egg hunts. There were just three women seeking to anoint the body of their friend who had been killed.
Easter comes to the few. It is only after they have experienced resurrection in the quietness of the empty tomb that they are directed to go out and tell others that Jesus is risen. This Easter, you are invited to live stream the worship service in the privacy of your own home, but after receiving the message that Jesus is alive, you are then invited to, even compelled to go and tell others. The Easter message comes not only from the angels who announce Jesus’ resurrection, but from the disciples who went out into the world filled with faith and new life.
Choose a person, or a couple of people in your life who you will talk with about your Easter faith. Invite them to join you for worship. Tell them about why church is important to you. Introduce them to Jesus through your life and your sharing.
It is through the spirit at work in you that new life will spring forth, like a yellow daffodil coming through the snow. Alleluia! Happy Easter!
Blessings,
Dawn
