Lilac Time

I’m so glad I live in a country that has distinct seasons.  When spring finally comes to Canada, it’s a celebration – big time.  And we all have our own personal harbingers of spring…the first robin sighting…tulips popping up around the neighbourhood…the Stanley Cup playoffs…mowing the lawn for the first time…relegating the winter coats to the back of the closet…digging up dandelions…wearing sandals again.  For me, it’s when our lilacs bloom.  I don’t really feel safe to call it spring until I see – and smell – those beautiful purple blossoms. 

We’re lucky enough to have some lilac bushes in our back yard, thanks to the family who built our house in 1946 and made the excellent choice to plant them.  According to Alberta Plant Watch, the purple lilac is a native of the mountainous regions of southeastern Europe, and it was brought to Canada by homesick settlers who bravely travelled here over a hundred years ago to homestead and start a new life.  Lilacs grow robustly even in poor conditions, which is why you see them in abundance in old neighbourhoods like ours, and on many farms around here. I love bringing great armfuls of lilac boughs into the house and arranging them in a big old vase that was a wedding present from my Aunty Babs.  We were married in early June (many moons ago) at Bill’s parent’s home.  It was a small wedding, but we had extravagant bouquets of lilacs everywhere in the house. Maybe that’s another reason why I love lilacs – they remind me of my wedding day.

Because there is such a contrast between winter and spring in most parts of Canada, we see and experience a kind of re-birth every year around this time. Spring reminds us that it’s possible to put away the old and walk into the new.  It’s possible to forget past hurts and disappointments, and move forward.  It’s possible to forgive oneself and try again.  It’s possible to make a fresh start.

Jesus pushes us even further.  At the beginning of His ministry in Galilee, He traveled around, proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news!” (Mark 1: 14, 15).  He was telling people (including us) that God’s unconditional love is available to anyone, here, now, without restriction. But in the same sentence, He speaks about the need for repentance.  

I did some research on the word “repent”, and found out it comes from the Greek word “metanoeo”, which means to change your mind, or to change direction. Jesus was basically calling His followers to embrace a radical new way to think and act and be. What exactly is that supposed to look like? Fr. Robert Barron, one of my favorite authors and speakers, describes “metanoeo” this way:  “When the organizing and energizing principle of one’s life has shifted from the fearful ego to the love of Jesus.” Or as Paul put it in Galatians 20: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” St. Francis is such a wonderful example of someone who took Jesus’ proclamation seriously.  After a dramatic U turn, his life became fully integrated and wholly focused on one thing – expressing the glory of God.  Kind of like my lilacs.