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Winterizing

How do you get ready for winter? Even as we were enjoying an extended fall season, we knew the inevitable was about to
happen. Sure enough, the weather seems to have made a real shift this week. It always takes some time for my inner
thermostat to adjust to the cooler temperatures, so I have been layering up this week to stay warm.

This week our Bible Study group talked about the seasonal changes that happen in the natural world in this part of the country. We acknowledged that at this time of year some types of birds fly away, and some actually come to stay over the winter. Some insects die, and some bury themselves in the ground to emerge again in the spring. Trees and plants lie dormant. Rabbits change colour. Horses grow their winter coats. All living things need to make the necessary
adjustments in preparation for the cold winter months.

The prompt that got us thinking about all these changes was a question about transformation. “What does the natural world teach us about transformation?” I feel fortunate to live in a part of the world that has changing seasons. Throughout the year our environment teaches us that life and death and life after death is all about transformation from one state to another. For new life to come into being, transformation needs to happen.

The gospel story this week describes a scene with the Sadducees confronting Jesus about the idea of resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death and so they confronted Jesus with a rather unlikely scenario to test him and put him on the spot. The point of the story, missed by the Sadducees, is that there is a difference between earthly things and heavenly, or spiritual things. Transformation from one state to another brings new life. Evidence of that is all around us in thenatural world.

Peace and joy
Nancy