By Pastor Don Schatz
Christ is not Absent
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“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,”
Matthew 6:28. New Revised Standard Version
My 11-year-old niece died suddenly and unexpectedly one day in December, 1978. She had a previously unknown congenital heart defect. Her younger sister said, “God was picking flowers today and he picked Lisa.” Admittedly, it was a 9-year-old’s theology. But the words comforted our family. They reminded us that even in such a tragedy, Christ was not absent. The Lord provides the lilies of the field, or the surprise find of a trillium in a redwood forest.
My son put flowers on his mother’s grave this past Sunday, Mother’s Day. I added some of my own on Monday. It has been more than 4-and-a-half years since she was added to the heavenly Eden. The sorrow of missing her still haunts us. But Christ was not absent as we witnessed her death. Christ was not absent Sunday. Nor Monday. Nor today.
Find some flowers today. Pay attention as you move through your life today. Can you keep track of how many flowers you see? Or flower beds? Don’t let them just flash by, part of the background of your life’s visual play. Notice them. Attend to them. There is beauty around you in those flowers. If you remember when you were 6, even the bright yellow dandelion captured your attention. You picked it and gave it to you mom with a smile, didn’t you?
Let the flowers be a reminder that Christ is not absent. Let them direct your vision to see God’s hand, his embracing arms, his gentle compassion in your life. Consider the lilies of the field….
And now, what if you planted a flower today? What if, today, you added to the world a reminder of God’s presence? Is there someone you know who needs a reminder that Christ is not absent? Would a bunch of spring flowers or a pot of flowers help you be that reminder?
“Remember” plays a large role in the Scripture. Jesus refers to it twice in the Words with which he shared the first Eucharist. Do you need the reminder of Christ’s presence? Consider the lilies of the field.
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
