Out Like a Lamb

I know I shouldn't complain about it. I mean, I'm Canadian, right? Snow and ice should simply melt at my steely gaze, right?

It's been a long, cold winter this year. I realize Michigan is no different from the rest of the US and Canada in having an exceptional winter (compared to the past ten years, at least), but it has really worn on us. We can't wait for the sun to start shining more and warming up the land. We can't wait for the grass to start growing and trees to bud. The warmth will be received joyfully!

Thankfully, we leave March behind today. There is an old saying that, weather-wise, March will be 'In like a lamb, out like a lion,' or, 'In like a lion, out like a lamb.' Of course, it's just a saying and it's not something you set your clock by, but often enough it is true. This year it is most certainly the latter, in both cases. March began with a cold and snowy few days. I know that because the phrase came to mind at the start of the month. At the time, I was cynically thinking to myself that with the way this winter has gone it would be no surprise if March goes out like a lion as well. Thankfully, this year we have a balance - in like a lion and out like a lamb.

Out like a Lamb. I'm not one to make enormous connections between the sacred and secular, but it is hard not to make a connection when you're in the midst of the Lenten season, considering the journey of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, to the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Next week is Holy Week, which is the most edifying time in the whole year for me. The extra services wear me down, and the intense service planning, sermon preparation, and other regular duties of being a pastor also contribute to my fatigue, but nothing compares to the immense peace (now that's an oxymoron!) and comfort I take in my Savior's suffering, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of my sins. They are taken away by the Lamb, and I rejoice in the new life he has given me.

One of my favorite Lenten hymns is Paul Gerhardt's A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth (#438 in Lutheran Service Book). I believe copyright restricts me from posting the full text of the hymn here, but I'll end here with a snippet from the second verse:

"Go forth my Son," the Father said,
"And free my children from their dread
Of guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear.
But by your passion they will share
The fruit of your salvation."