Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
In the grave they laid Him, Love who had been slain,
Thinking that He never would awake again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Forth He came at Easter, like the risen grain,
Jesus who for three days in the grave had lain;
Quick from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Jesus' touch can call us back to live again,
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
"Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain:"......When I married my farmer husband almost 20 years ago, I didn't even know that there was winter wheat as well as spring wheat! The winter wheat is planted in the fall, sprouts, and then is dormant until the sunshine and rains in the spring. I've always marveled at the dying and rising of the wheat seed. The faith of the farmer is not to be downplayed in this scenario. Seed, fertilizer, time, are all poured into this labor of planting a seed which will soon die, with no sign of life for many months after. Early spring comes, the ground starts to thaw, and then miraculously, the green rows start to appear in the field! And it is wheat! Of course, this is only another beginning for this leap of faith for the farmer. Rainfall, storms, diseases, are all part of the story yet to come. Yet, hope is found in the spring, when that green blade is seen! And so it is with our Jesus..."laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen." But a marked difference as well. With Jesus' Resurrection, there is no doubt that Jesus is alive, and remains so to this day...no storm or drought can change that fact!
"When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,"....Our area of the state is expecting snow late tonight and tomorrow! Yes, TOMORROW, Mother's Day, May 11!! Our hearts yearning for springtime will once again be wintry! There are many who are also grieving the loss of ones they love. I know many are in physical or emotional pain. The promise we have as Christians, however, is that these times of desolation, sorrow, or pain, are the EXACT times that Jesus calls to us.LIVE again! The fields of our heart are made lush with joy, freedom, love, and peace! Jesus, the Shepherd whose voice we KNOW, brings us to the fullness of life that he has waiting for us. All we need do is listen.
