While I was away on my retreat a week ago, I went on a boat ride through the local rivers near the city. Being the last weekend of summer, life along the river banks was still green and plush. However, I observed this one lone tree that jumped the gun a bit in showing off its autumn colors. There in the mist of all the other green trees, this one colorful tree reminded me that autumn was around the corner. Last Friday, while most of you welcomed spring up north, we welcomed autumn down south here in Argentina.
Living in the Southern Hemisphere I have often gripped about the lack of materials and reflections that connect the seasons of the church calendar with the annual seasons of the Southern Hemisphere. For example, most reflections connect Advent with winter and Lent and Easter with spring. Well, here in Argentina it is now autumn as we observe Lent. This past weekend I was searching for and reflecting on any parallels between Lent and autumn.
In his book Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer reflects on the seasons of life. On autumn he writes, “In my own experience of autumn, I am rarely aware of the seeds being planted. Instead, my mind is on the face that the green growth of summer is browning and beginning to die. My delight in the autumn colors is always tinged with melancholy, a sense of impending loss that is only heightened by the beauty all around. I am drawn down by the prospect of death more than I am lifted up by the hope of new life”
Palmer goes on to conclude, “Autumn constantly reminds me that my daily dyings are necessary precursors to new life. If I try to ‘make’ a life that defies the diminishments of autumn, the life I end up with will be artificial, at best, and utterly colorless as well. But when I yield to the endless interplay of living and dying, dying and living, the life I am given will be real and colorful, fruitful and whole.”
I am learning that Lent is a season to die to the self that does not reflect the characteristics true to God’s image and Kingdom. It is a time to confront our false self. It is a time to put to death identity, value, meaning, and purpose that are inconsistent with being created in the image of God for His purposes. As I shared in a previous post, I am learning that the purpose of the disciplines of Lent is to put to death those parts of our lives that prevent us from living more fully into God’s resurrection Kingdom.
This first week of autumn I have now noticed other trees beginning to turn yellow and gold. These remaining weeks of Lent, I pray that these increasing fall colors will serve as a daily reminder of the areas of my life that I need to die to, so that I can more fully live the resurrection. As Palmer reminds us, these daily dyings are necessary precursors to new life, more fruitful and whole.
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Romans 6:8
