PESACH

SPRING'S FINEST HOUR

The sun rises 

upon a calm sea of red anemone

Undulating gently in the crisp spring dawn

Wild pear stand regally against the azure sky

Watchful witnesses in frothy gowns of white

The Judas tree 

clad trunk and branch in magenta finery

Blushes and turns a blind eye

One broken man stumbles but 

another intercedes — bearing the cross.

Blue lupine nod in sorrow

To the clusters of snowy chamomile

Gazing at two forlorn shapes  — All hope lost

Wild mustard sway in chorus 

to the sad sweet song

of prickly broom’s mournful melodies 

pungent piercing

A vernal morn like every other

and none other

To change everything 

for all time and every season

Spring’s finest scents, sensations, and sounds

The earth renewed, reborn, and refreshed

In each bud and blossom

Yet the horror

How could this be?

When every flower and tree

is jubilant in spring glory

The Maker giving his life

willingly —  no reservations

Spilling his blood among the anemones

Bare bone white against blue sky

His death, his spring sacrifice

hopes beacon

No greater gift, no grander season

His life for ours — 

Our life renewed 

Spring’s finest hour


Rebecca Stewart 2006

Sometimes it might seem that life continues from age to age, generation to generation, as a river flowing unimpeded.
But there have been startling events, unusual occurrences that have changed the flow of time, and had an impact on history that has not yet been fully appreciated. 
The death of the Messiah was one of these events, and his return will be another. Pesach - was the sacrifice that prefigured Jesus' death. It is that one seminal event that renews and enlightens giving us hope for the future, even as the light in society begins to darken.