"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;"
We flow with the rhythm of seasons. During the time of writing (late March 2022), the season shifted from Winter to Spring. In my area of Lake County, CA, the cold, grey ground is now bursting with green foliage. The corpse-like branches of Valley Oaks are budding with bright leaves. All creation bursts upward with new life. It's the great cycle of death and rebirth.
This is also the season of Lent, when the Christian Church enters the season of great fasting and prayer and repentance. It's when the old is put to death in preparation for the new. The spiritual Winter leads to Resurrection Sunday, the climax of Spring. Christ was put to death and laid down in the tomb of the earth. Then, He burst forth with Resurrected Life, the New Creation.
During this season, Orthodox Monks read The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St John Climacus. Here is a brief summary from a sermon by Metropolitan Philaret:
"In this work, we see how, by means of thirty steps, the Christian gradually ascends from below to the heights of supreme spiritual perfection. We see how one virtue leads to another, as a man rises higher and higher and finally attains to that height where there abides the crown of the virtues, which is called 'Christian love.'"
As we have the yearly cycle of Seasons, so too we have the greater cycle of life and this age. In writing a letter to St John Climacus, St Gregory the Great said the following:
"For it is written, "My sheep shall come and shall find pastures." And these pastures in truth we find, when, freed from the winter of this life, we are satisfied with the greenness of eternal life, as of a new Spring." - AD 600-1.
Notice how St Gregory the Great identifies this life as a Winter. Death is the Equinox that brings forth a "new Spring" - life in the age to come.
We live the Winters of the 3-month season, the 40 weeks of Great Lent, and our life-season in this world (to name a few). All lead to the Springs of the Equinox, Resurrection Sunday, and eternal life in the age to come. The end of one season is the beginning of another. Death gives forth to life.
May we be prepared to embrace the new Spring.
Derek
The first quote is from Ecclesiastes 3 (NKJV)
March 25 (the date of this post) was once the first day of the calendar year to coincide with the Christian festival of the Annunciation [Read more]. I touched on this in a previous newsletter as well about the fascinating history of calendars.
Keep in mind that The Ladder of Divine Ascent is a book written primarily for Monastics to be read during times of fasting and prayer. Proceed carefully with understanding.
Please, dear reader, understand that I am not an expert in these matters but a mere student excitedly sharing new discoveries. If you note anything that is incorrect, do let me know.