This past Monday was the first day of summer. June 21, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is also the first day of summer. (I know this because Professor Fuelberg told me so during Bible study this past Sunday.) From here on out, the days will get shorter as we approach the Fall equinox when daylight and nighttime are equal lengths, and then our days with lengthen again starting on the Winter solstice, the shortest daylight period of the year.
Seasons are interesting things to me. For whatever reason, I have always been interested in how time and seasons work whether those be seasons of weather, quarters (which are the seasons of the business world), liturgical seasons like Advent and Lent, or seasons of life in general.
As we move into the summer, we are moving into a different kind of season – the season of a new sermon series. Our sermon series for the next few weeks is going to be called “seasons of hope” as we consider the different seasons of our lives and how God’s grace speaks into all of those seasons. Some of our seasons are dark, and some are light. Some of our seasons are difficult and some are comfortable. But throughout the seasons, God’s grace continues to provide us with what we need – the forgiveness of our sins and the quieting of our fears.
We are assured of God’s love for us no matter the season, but God’s love also adapts to meet us in our seasons. As Paul says of Christ’s Body, the Church, we rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The outward expressions of those seasons are very different. It is different to weep with someone and to rejoice with them, but whether we are weeping or rejoicing – we are loving. So too, God’s love weeps with us in weeping seasons, and He rejoices with us in rejoicing seasons because while our seasons may be different, His love is always there. God’s presence gives us hope that no matter what season we encounter, we will encounter it with Him by our side.