Happy Spring!

Today's the first day of Spring! Yesterday I took a walk around Biola and La Mirada Park. I got a chance to greet some of the spring birds and flowers. I put up an album of the pictures I took on Flickr. Here's a Hooded Oriole from La Mirada Park (my FOS):

Hooded Oriole at La Mirada Park
http://flickr.com/photos/rowleypics/2347113912/

It's also Maundy Thursday. Today the western church, in various denominations, will commemorate the Last Supper. "Maundy" comes from Maundatum - Latin for commandment. Today we remember that Christ gave us a new commandment, to love one another.

This comes from John 13. After Jesus had washed his disciple's feet, and had sent Judas out, he said to his disciples:

"Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

This is the very mission of the Church. Tonight we'll have a service where we commemorate the Last Supper's institution, washing of feet (a symbol of the kind of love Jesus requires of us), and when the service is over we'll take our place waiting with him for Good Friday. All night, volunteers will take turns praying in the church. With our sleeplessness, we will strive to fulfill Jesus' wish where the disciples failed.

Failure is such a huge element of human life. Writing this I was thinking about how badly the church (and me!) are in fulfilling its mission. But two things encourage me. First, the very next passages in John 13 after the new commandment is given are Peter's promise to never betray Jesus. We are not alone in our failure, but Peter went on to do great things for God. Secondly, Jesus' death on the cross is the very and only cure for our failure, and on Friday we'll do well to remember that.

Isn't it amazing that the same Lord through whom a beautiful bird like a Hooded Oriole was created died on a dirty cross in Palestine? The return of a beautiful bird like a Hooded Oriole can be as powerful a symbol of the Resurrection as the first blooming lilies of spring - just keep your eyes open!