For Everything, There is a Season

For Everything, There Is a Season

This morning, as I walked my daily path, I realized that the magnolia blossoms I had watched change from white candle-like spikes to creamy bowls in May and June had disappeared.  And the jasmine that adorned a garden wall in spring had been cut back.  The crepe myrtle that had just appeared in July and painted the streets in watermelon pink was gone, replaced by not-yet-ripe pecans falling prematurely.  Soon the leaves I have enjoyed on the various trees I greet along the way will turn to autumn brilliance, while pine straw gathers on lawns and in gutters.  The seasons have changed from early spring to fall even as I’ve just walked through what has seemed like a few short days. 

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a season for everything and a time for every purpose (Eccl 3:1-8).  So what is this season and this time?  Too many are dying, and we long for healing of both body and soul.   The harvest time is with us, whether plentiful or sparse.  Too many are being killed unjustly, and weeping and mourning abound.  And it is dangerous to embrace one another for fear of disease.

So what are we to keep, and what are we to throw away?  Do we discard the truth and norms of the past, or keep the institutions that have preserved our way of life?  Do we tear apart the fabric of our values, or stitch back together the binding cloth of community?  Do we keep silent or speak truth to power?  Do we love our neighbor as ourselves or hate those who think differently from us?  And do we go to war with each other or live in peace? 

This is the time and season for reflection and contemplation on who we are and how and whether we choose to live in community.  It is a time for going deep within our souls to find the light and love that is the image of the Divine within each of us.  It is a time to choose that light or the darkness that threatens to overtake us.  Let us choose the light.

(Image by Ashley Ratliff)