June is a happy month. There are many graduations and weddings in June. These are times when we celebrate growth, because someone has moved on from being a student or being a single person. Farmers are pretty happy because this particular time means that all the planting has been accomplished and this is now the growing season.
This is also the growing season in the church. It’s called the season after Pentecost. These days I’m wearing a green stole during church services because green is the color of growth. We have gone through the seasons of the church year that tell us about the life of Jesus (from Advent, the time of preparation for his coming, through Easter, which includes Ascension Day, the day when Jesus returned to God in heaven) and now it is the time to grow under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit.
It is a time for growth because June is a time when life starts to slow down for the summer and we can take the time to reflect on those celebrations and their meanings. Vacations are wonderful for just that reason. It’s a time of recreation – notice how this word is a combination word: “re,” meaning again, and “creation,” the time when we are made. We find our growth in being made anew.
So have a happy season of growth beginning this June!
God’s blessings,
Pastor Bob
