The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

Love is all around us, and of course it is in the forefront of our minds this week, as we observe the wedding of William and Kate.

There have been many great love stories throughout history, and if you like Shakespeare, they are also usually great tragedies. Personally, I prefer Elizabeth Barrett-Browning.

In the Old Testament, you find love stories sprinkled throughout.
Not so in the New Testament. Why not? Because from the beginning to the end, it is in fact one great love story - the greatest love story ever told.

At first glance, one may see it only as a tragedy, after all, Jesus was crucified, and we are confronted by this picture on Good Friday, which also happened to fall on Earth Day this year.
He came not in royal splendour, even though we know He was of royal blood. He came as a "commoner". He sought neither wealth, position, nor power in the earthly sense. During the temptation, he showed how all these things are simply illusion. He did not come to conquer through a show of force but through healing. He showed that a person could in fact be judged not just by their words but by their acts, and how they live their life. How we choose to live our life is up to us as individuals, and we make that decision every day. If you believe in the 6 degrees of separation theory, then we could all consider ourselves to be of royal blood. Christ's blood was shed for each and every one of us.

This royal wedding was not touted as a fairy tale. It's a true, modern love story. There may be joys and sorrows, trials and tribulations. This union, however, looks like it will have a happy ending. In a similar way, this is how and why we celebrate Easter.
Wishing you every joy and happiness.


Sparky
PS Diana would have been 50 this year, so this picture is in honor of her memory.

Song for those under 30: Price Tag by Jessie J

What's Growing in Your Garden?

About a month ago, we were privileged to listen to a talk by Robert Massoud, founder of Zatoun (please check out their website), a grassroots company dedicated to helping the people of Palestine. This blog springs out of that conversation. A funny thing happened at work this week. I brought in some roses to have on my desk, 'cause some days in gloomy, rainy Vancouver, you just have to do something to perk yourself up. A couple of people actually asked me if they were from my garden. Now, we do like to consider ourselves the California of the North, but trust me, we do not have roses blooming in our gardens this time of year! In fact, our local mountains have been enjoying nothing but snow for the past couple of weeks. Naturally I said no, they are not from my garden. Then I had a thought. In this deeply contemplative time of Passiontide, what if I considered this question more closely? The question then becomes, what am I growing or intend to grow, in my garden? What am I cultivating, hoping to burst forth in bloom at some future point? Will I even be here to see it? What is lurking in my garden that has no business being there? What kind of food and nurturing will it need? Is it something that will need some kind of protection? What will grow well in our particular climate? These are all food for thought. I don't have a place anymore for a real garden, but I think I know just the spot in our church garden for a nice rosebush. And maybe given the microclimate that our manse enjoys, we could try growing a real, live olive tree, just like in Palestine! Sparky