New life can stare us in the face, and we put it down to some silly myth, or we just ignore it and continue to life in the culture of death. And truly, New Life is all around us. It's in the air as spring erupts. It's on the beach where I walk in the mornings as hundreds of small critters creep and slide in the foaming surf. There is new life, too, in our relationships - though it's easier to cling to our encrusted habits of conflict and adversarial engagement.
New life bubbles up in old friends and new families.
It smolders in new and committed relationships, and it flowers in the squeak and squeal of new babies. New life is literally everywhere we turn. And we are like a world that sees a startling truth in the Sunday paper, only to ignore it like we would a pesky fly or mosquito. As we approach this cross and the empty tomb this year, let's pay attention to the new life that we've been offered. As we move through this Lenten time of reflection and prayer, let's pay attention to the wonder and glory of new life as it pulsates around us and in our Church.