by Sister Donna Schroeder
The hymn we sang at the beginning of Morning Prayer today was my favorite Easter Hymn, Now the Green Blade Riseth. On the internet there are at least three YouTube versions available to hear. Perhaps my love of this hymn is due to the longing for green that accompanies a bit of cabin fever after a Northern Winter. The refrain of the hymn is golden: “Love is come again like wheat that springeth green.”
When we consider the love God has for us, a love that brought Christ to live among us, we know we are loved. God’s love refreshes and makes our lives fruitful if we respond to it. However, the process of a germination of that love is bound to be challenging. We must be open to the nurturing soil and take within us a love of our neighbor that will transform us into doers and not merely hearers of God’s Word. We must make Christ visible.