Circle of Life

As we get ready to head into the Lenten season, New Orleans is celebrating Mardi Gras . Lent will culminate for Christians in Holy Week and Easter. We are also getting ready for Spring although that may still be a few weeks away weather wise. It is a time of death and rebirth.

The cycle of death and rebirth is in many different cultures. In pagan times the seasons were the focus of celebration with the death of the plant world in winter giving way to its rebirth in spring. During Holy Week we commemorate the death of Jesus and his resurrection at Easter. Many Far Eastern religions have as one of their tenants the idea of reincarnation.

There was a time when the idea of New Orleans being able to survive and rebuild enough to do Mardi Gras again seemed like a wild dream. There is still so much to be done to rebuild the city but they are slowly coming back to life. There is a resilience to humans that is really amazing. Somehow in spite of everything we still manage to survive events that by all rights we shouldn't be able to survive.

During the Lenten Season those of us brought up Christian reflect on the man who gave his life to save us from sin. It is a time when we reflect on our own lives and see what we can do to make ourselves worthy of his sacrifice. We also reflect on his resurrection and the promise that when we die we will join him and those who have gone before us. I find great comfort in the thought that I will be able to see my Dad again.

The picture is called "Circle of Life" and was inspired by the Elton John song of the same name.