The Lion and the Lamb

"March: it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." So they say, and so it goes. True to form, March is coming in windy and cold. Hopefully by Easter Sunday at the end of the month, our Arkansas weather will have more placid, warm, lamb-like qualities.

By the end of March the forty days of Lent will give way to the Great Fifty Days of Easter. In the process we join the journey of Jesus, who is known in Scripture as both Lion and Lamb.

In Christian tradition, Jesus is known as the Lion of Judah. Being from the tribe of Judah which had always been symbolized by the great lion, Jesus is shown in the book of Revelation as its representative chosen to break the seven seals and open the heavenly scrolls (Revelation 5.5).

Jesus is also known as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)." In John's Gospel the first Good Friday is the Day of Preparation, and Jesus dies at the very hour that the Passover lamb is slain. The Lamb, for centuries the powerful symbol of liberation/salvation/deliverance for Israel, now becomes the offer of salvation not only for Israel but for the whole world.

Indeed, the Lion becomes the Lamb in the last days: "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne...He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne...and they sang a new song: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain...(Rev. 5:6-11)!"

The Lion and the Lamb. Somehow they coexist in our souls, and someday they will lie down together in peace.

Blessings,
Rev

Waiting for Fair Winds

The month of March, soon to come, brings with it many promises: Easter, turkey season, and good sailing weather to name a few. Here is the missus (Linda) at the helm of our 22 foot vintage sailboat Anastasia. Built in 1979, Anastasia will soon be 30 years old and is in very good shape. We just acquired her at the end of last summer and have not yet had the chance to perfrom the traditional renaming/Christening ritual. Right now it is cold and rainy in Arkansas, but soon we will perform the ancient ritual complete with an invocation to the four winds and anointing with champagne. Then her new name, which means Resurrection in Greek, will be proudly displayed.

I have loved sailing ever since living in New Orleans for seminary and learning to sail on Lake Ponchartrain. Jesus was referring to the Spirit when He reminded Nicodemus, "The wind blows where it will (John 3:8)." He had been going about making things new: giving Simon a new name, changing water into wine, and promising new birth and new life to a religious elder. Such is the work of God, as we wait for the fair winds of spring.
Rev Buck

He Who Shoots the Stars

Hi and welcome to my blog. I would like to open my blog with a mental image which first came to my attention while reading Henri J.M. Nouwen's book, Can You Drink the Cup?:
"I am reminded of Philip Sears's powerful sculpture of Pumunangwet, the Native American at the Fruitlands Museums in Harvard, Massachusetts. He stands with his beautifully stretched naked body, girded with a loincloth, reaching to the heavens with his bow high above him in his left hand while his right hand still holds the memory of the arrow that just left for the stars. He is totally self-possessed, solidly rooted on the earth, and totally free to aim far beyond himself. He knows who he is. He is proud to be a lonesome warrior called to fulfill a sacred task. He truly holds his own."

You might want to Google "Pumunangwet" ("He Who Shoots the Stars") and take a look at that magnificent sculpture. What a beautiful archetype for the spiritual journey.
Blessings,
Rev Buck