Renewal

Spring marks the renewal of nature. Long-dormant fields begin to relax from the stiff, hard freeze of winter. Flowers sprout and bloom. Trees begin to sprout leaves. Insects emerge. Hibernating mammals awaken. Humans, too, have “hibernated” over the cold and dark winter months.

Cultures and societies from time immemorial have celebrated this rebirth in a multitude of ways. Many of the world's religious and spiritual traditions have some form of seasonal rites that mark the changing world around them.

Those familiar with the Hebrew prophets will be aware of Ezekiel's writings. He lived around 600 B.C. in the waning years of the Kingdom of Judah. He wrote about this renewal and rebirth in a poignant, albeit somewhat macabre, metaphorical way. He likened the world around him and the people among whom he lived to long-dead, dry bones that filled a valley.

When I was a young child, I learned a “ditty” in primary school to teach us about the human skeleton. The song had a catchy tune. We learned “toe bone connected to the foot bone, foot bone connected to the ankle bone, ankle bone connected to the leg bone,” and up through the body to the head.

We were never told in our primary school science classes that the song was a Christian spiritual song, written by an African American civil rights activist in the early 1920s. I didn’t learn this until well into my adulthood when I was studying for the priesthood.

What we thought was a cute way to learn the parts of the human body is directly connected to the text in Ezekiel Chapter 37. This text, written to different people living in a different time and for a different reason, has been adapted by Christian traditions to reflect their understanding of the resurrection of Jesus. This decidedly springtime celebration parallels ancient religious traditions of the early first century A.D.

Many Christian traditions use this chapter as part of their worship readings during the few weeks before Resurrection Day (or Easter), which are called Lent. For Christian faithful, Lent is a time of reflection, contemplation and preparation.

The long-dead and dried-out bones in the valley are devoid of moisture, devoid of life. The bones are little more than the detritus of some past destruction. But in Ezekiel’s writings, the Christian faithful find a message that is relevant to life in the modern world.

In his story, Ezekiel commands the bones to come together. One can almost hear the clanky rattling of the calcified remains as they reanimate. Then, as if in a CGI movie, the bones are covered with the various layers of flesh that make up a human body. When it is all done, the Divine breathes life back into the one dead, and they live again.

The human condition can be likened to a dry, barren valley in the wilderness, like winter, cold and lifeless. The valley reminds us of those times in life when our spirits, emotions and psyche are at their lowest points — when life is fraught with worry, broken relationships, grief and despair. We wonder if life will ever change. We wonder if we can get out of the valley and once again be on top of life’s rhythms.

Spring is that time of renewal that infuses all living things with new life, with new hope. As Christians look to the Resurrection as the symbol of new life, other cultures and religious traditions posit similar hopes in the springtime. These may all be observed in different ways, but the bottom line for all of us is that we humans need to confront life’s challenges and come to terms with our weaknesses. And at the end of such times of consideration, celebration ensues as hope pulls us from the depths into the heights of hopefulness.

Spring is when we open our hearts to the newness of life as it blooms around us. Life returns to the earth in its eternal cycle. No matter how well one enjoys winter activities, everyone also looks forward to spring when Creation comes alive again.

Parallels of Ezekiel’s hopeful words about new life find their expression and meaning in many places, regardless of where you experience and express belongingness. For some, it may be in a church or a mosque. For others, it may be in the bowling club or on a golf course. Some might find it communing with nature on a long horseback ride into the mountains or forest.

Wherever you may be, when humans are in community with one another, they can encourage one another, offer hope and make spring a joyous time of renewal for all facets of life.

Rev. Steven L. Shields, FRAS (slshields@gmail.com) has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, he is also a life member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Korea, of which he was a director, vice president, and president. He was a copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.