"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
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Welcome, Bill. I'm going to enjoy your posts as I enjoyed our time together when I first entered into the candidacy. I've been blogging for some time now, and it helps in so many ways. You have a great many gifts to share. I'm glad you chose this medium.
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