Cheery, Accompanied by Catastrophe
Bruce Lindgren of Independence, MO, USA
More fully embody your oneness and equality in Jesus Christ. Oneness and equality in Christ are realized through the waters of baptism, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, and sustained through the sacrament of Communion. Embrace the full meaning of these sacraments and be spiritually joined in Christ as never before…. Oneness and equality in Christ do not mean uniformity. They mean Unity in Diversity and relating in Christ-like love to the circumstances of others as if they were one’s own. They also mean full opportunity for people to experience human worth and related rights, including expressing God-given giftedness in the church and society. -Doctrine and Covenants 165:3a, e
There have always been flowers in our yard, often growing in large pots or containers. Several years ago, we discovered lantana (Lantana camara), a shrubby plant with pleasant, brightly colored clusters (umbrels) of tiny flowers, often with mixed colors within the clusters. The flowers are pleasantly fragrant, and they attract bees (a good thing for the environment). In our climate, they are killed by the winter cold.
While visiting Australia, we saw lantana growing freely along the roadsides, and we learned that they are considered a noxious weed. (Winters are generally not cold enough to kill them, and they have few natural competitors in Australia.) So, the cheery little plant back home becomes a real pest in a different context.
Life is like that: a mixture of the cheery and hopeful, accompanied by a certain catastrophe. We work to encourage joy and happiness, but we sometimes create real problems for all our good intentions.
We are not divided into good teams and evil teams. All of us are capable of creating havoc in our attempts to do the “right thing,” and hope and joy sometimes spring unbidden in moments of gloom. So, if God should send a Savior, and if we should put him to death in our willfulness, it should not be a surprise. Some of our cultural forebears sowed an enemy’s land with salt so that they could no longer grow crops, but we also inherit acts of great selflessness and kindness.
In the midst of tragedy, we sometimes come upon “collateral beauty;” and our best efforts are sometimes laced with catastrophe, for others if not for ourselves. In the Lenten springtime, the dead remnants of winter exist side-by-side with the budding of new life. And so, the cross tells us that tragedy is always accompanied by hope.
Prayer Phrase
Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?
Spiritual Practice
Gospel Contemplation (John 2:13–22)
Each week during Lent, you are invited to pray with a different gospel story from the life of Christ. Use your senses and imagination to enter the text. Allow it to come to life in you, observing details, noticing interactions, even engaging in dialogue. Notice where you find yourself in the story and how you feel about what is happening. Notice what it evokes in you or invites of you. Take time to journal or enter silent prayer to reflect on your experience and to sense where the Spirit may be leading you through this scriptural encounter.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
