Endings….and beginnings

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Rev. 1:8

Last grant of the season is finished.

Last week of Lent is almost completed.

We have put away the winter coats and boots (while still gazing suspiciously into the gray sky).

Start to plan for wrapping up Sunday School and Forum.

At this time of year, I feel the satisfaction that faculty and students feel as they contemplate two semesters almost completed, with the end of the academic year in sight. A few days till Easter and then a few weeks till Pentecost, and, in a way, the church’s “school year” is over. In my mind, Trinity Sunday is like graduation. At least in this parish, where it is our patronal feast day, and we often celebrate with a picnic after the service.

Awareness of the endings opens the possibility for wonderful new beginnings: summer vacation, long-awaited summer workshops, a new Vacation Bible School program, time and space to think and plan. And pray. The delight and rapture of Easter seeps through the solemnity of Holy Week

Sometimes there is a sadness when I contemplate endings. But when I couple the endings with the beginnings, the feeling is quite different. I wonder if the sense of anticipation and scent of incoming freshness is the gift of a God who is both the beginning and the ending?

--Laura Howell