Thought for Today
2 Kings 13:20 . . . Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
1 Chronicles 20:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle . . .
Acts 27:12 Since the harbor was not suitable for spending the winter, the majority was in favor of putting to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, where they could spend the winter . . .
Jude 1:12 . . . They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted;
What is your favorite season of the year? Spring? Summer? Autumn? Winter? At one time in history, much of human activity was restricted and constricted by seasonal considerations. Evidently spring was the time to “go out to battle.” In the hymn Great Is Your Faithfulness the second verse reads, “Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness . . .” Witness to the regular cycle of seasons established by our Creator God.
Last night, our grandson came over for dinner. As autumn approaches he, and many other college students, are preparing to go back to college. This was our final dinner together prior to his departure. As an added bonus, his dad stopped by on his way home from work. During supper, the question was asked, “What is your favorite season?” It sparked some lively discussion.
Of the four of us, two answered “spring,” and two answered “autumn.” Greta and our son favored spring. They loved the surcease of winter, the explosion of the plants and trees from their winter slumber, the arrival of all the migratory birds, the general renewal of life.
Our grandson and I favored autumn. We both love the arrival of crisp mornings, the relief from the sweltering heat of summer. For us, the arrival of football season, the changing leaves, Halloween and Thanksgiving are all welcomed sights. What is your favorite season? Why?
With the exception of snow skiers and surfers, I cannot imagine that many would choose winter or summer. I know that we normally divide the year into 4 seasons of 3 months each. However, depending on where one lives in our country, winter and summer are the longest seasons, seeming to last at least 11½ months each. Along the Texas Gulf Coast, summer lasts 11½ months. The other 3 seasons seem to compress into the remaining ½ month. In New England, winter lasts 11½ months, with spring, summer and autumn compressed into the remaining ½ month. Obviously, this is an example of my words from yesterday, “Maybe we need to be more explicit when we talk about time, carefully differentiating between subjective time and ‘measured’ time.”
In any consideration of time and seasons, Christians need to remember our various seasonal hymns we sing in worship. We have hymns for every season, every liturgical time and holiday. Certainly we must each have a repertory of Christmas hymns, favored treasures we joyfully sing each yuletide. Many of our hymnals group the hymns by season with sections for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Do the various seasonal hymns affect your preference for one season over the others?
I must admit to several favored seasonal hymns, many of course associated with my favorite season. I love Come, Ye Thankful People, Come with the words, “Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home; All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin . . .” This despite the fact that I have never lived on a farm.
There are other favorite hymns, however, some associated with spring, some not seasonal at all. I love I Come to the Garden Alone with its ode to the early morning dew and flowering roses. The aforementioned Great Is Your Faithfulness is another hymn associated with autumn. This morning, as I think about all of this the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful is running through my mind. Irrespective of the season, irrespective of my personal preference among the seasons, I am constantly thankful to our Creator God for the beauty and majesty of Creation, for “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, our dear God made them all.”
Stay safe, bask in the magnificence of Creation, trust God,
Pastor Ray