During the months of March to May, everything seems to burst into color. Sprouts of pinks and purples, whites and yellows, blues and oranges litter the countryside as once dormant things come back to life. In areas like fashion and design, we take our cues from nature and use these themes to celebrate making it through the winter months. As inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere, we are fortunate enough to have a similar seasonal structure to Israel. So, when Scripture rejoices in the arrival of Spring, we can most assuredly relate!
"For behold, the winter has past, the rain is over, it has gone. Blossoms appear in the land, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its early figs. The blossoming vines give off their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling, my pretty one, and come, come!"
- Song of Songs 2:11-13
Somewhat ironically, this is also the time of year that we celebrate Passover - the appointed feast of ADONAI marking of our deliverance out of Egypt through plagues, trials, and tribulations. To remember so much suffering in the midst of a time of such tremendous growth can seem a little counterintuitive. However, without remembering the darkness, we can't appreciate the light. Likewise, we can't rejoice in our freedom without recalling the desperation of slavery.
So outside of the Passover seder and our observance of the Feast of Matzot, how do we incorporate our celebration of God's goodness into our daily lives?
That is an excellent question!
Did you know that liturgical denominations actually use color as a way to track the various parts of the year? Some Catholic and Traditional Protestant clergy will wear vestments of purple in the weeks leading up to Easter before changing to Red for the week immediately before Resurrection Sunday and then wearing gold or white on Resurrection Sunday. The colors change between denominations and rites, but the concept remains the same: to mark the days, weeks, and months with color in order to better understand the significance of these holy moments. Even in Judaism, it is traditional to have the person leading the seder to wear white as a representation of holiness and to remember the great high priest!
So, with Spring upon us and the Passover season approaching, you can bring a little bit of this color explosion into your own life!
Try wearing red to remember the blood on the doorposts of the houses of Israel where the angel of death passed over. And wear it again to remember the blood of our Messiah Yeshua that was spilled as final atonement for sin and death forever.
Bring the outside into your home with bright white flowers to remind you of the cleansing from sin that Yeshua's sacrifice provides!
Try wearing purple to remind yourself of Yeshua's resurrection and ascension into heaven as our heavenly High Priest!
Decorate your home with bright colors in celebration of God's creation and the renewal of life that we have through His Spirit!
Whatever you can do to help yourself remember the miraculous love of God in your daily life, make sure you do it in living color!
