Rain

Today we watched out the windows of our sanctuaries as rain rushed down out of the sky. As I drove to church this morning I remarked to a friend how happy the trees must be. Usually I'm not given to anthropomorphizing sentimentality such as this, but when I am assaulted by the natural beauty of seasonal cycles I guess I can't help myself.

Of course, I was also reminded of Mark 4, where the kingdom of God is like a seed which grows into a tree and that tree becomes home to birds and stuff. Now, considering I've been studying that catechism, I know that water is just water, unless it is enclosed in and connected with God's word. And, on this occasion I watched the rain soaking the ground and climbing up the tree where the neon green buds on the branches foretold the impending fruits of spring.

Is it the water that does it, or is it what comes with the water? The minerals and nourishment of the soil can only be given to the tree through the water, without it the dirt stays just dirt and though it gives the roots something to hold onto, it cannot feed the tree. I know that analogies and conclusions often work against the truth, but consider this:

The rain as the preached words of forgiveness, the dirt as the law and life of believers being broken down and melded together by the carbonic acid in the rain and finally taken up into the life of faith which is at one time a single trunk, many branches, thousands of twigs, fluttering leaves, and also home to creatures, which although they are not human may still nest in the Kingdom of God which is promised to all believers.