Do the Robins know that their songs have consequences? As they waken in the morning, do they decide to day I must sing… to let the other robins know that I am here. Do they sing to warn others that “this grass and all of the worms below it are mine.” Or perhaps they choose to sing to appear more attractive. Perhaps they intend to sing “so let the other eligible robins know that I am available.” Are the chirps really just sort of a “personal ad” in song? Or do they just ‘sing’, with no self awareness at all. The song is not sung as a message, but just because singing is “just a robin’s instinctive behavior.” Whatever the reason, I am so glad they do.
As a Milwaukee morning walker, you go through a real adjustment in the Spring. The cold, dark of March Morning walks, begin to warm with hints of pink and orange in the eastern sky. You hear the hopeful songs of a few committed robins daring to give an early performance of the endless concerts that May will bring. And you have a sense that the worst is behind you, and that you are of the brink of the warmth and hope of “Spring.” Of course this reverie is rudely interrupted by “Daylight Savings Time.” You wake up the second Monday of March. Immersed again in darkness, and you ask yourself if perhaps everything would be better if you started the day at 6 rather than 5.
Since the clocks changed, back in the darkness for much of the walk, I listened to the few robins who sing their song even in the dark. I pondered on all that these birds observe and will be observing, each morning at daybreak. The sunrise will start earlier and earlier. The days will grow warmer and warmer. Spring will finally come!
Listening to the chorus of robins during my reflections at dawn, my thoughts drifted to Easter, and the Holy land at this same time of year 2000+ years ago. Did you know, that during Springtime in Israel, thousands of birds will stop over, as they make their way back to Europe from Africa? As I observed the early morning sights and sounds, I wondered to myself what an opportunity it would have been to be a bird nesting in the garden outside Joseph of Arimathea’s mausoleum. The amazing things the wildlife inhabiting that garden might have witnessed.
Imagine the quiet mourning, the reverential sorrow and love that Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and the others would have displayed as they laid Christ’s lifeless body to rest in the new tomb. Perhaps the Blessed Mother was in their company as they delivered the corpus to the tomb, John offering her comfort and assistance until she was ready to leave and return with him to his home. Soon after, there would have been the contrasting appearance of the Roman guard.
Arriving upon the scene, this group would have presented a visage of violence and vulgarity. These men hardened by battle and crude way of life common to the thousands of Roman soldiers who committed to a 20 year life of war and work. In exchange for some land and a few other benefits these men lived far from the empire, building roads, conquering new lands. Keeping order by the edge of a sword and raising tribute for the emperor of an ever growing empire. They would have felt that they were wasting time guarding this gravesite against a few Galilean fisherman and some Jewish zealots, or they may have seen it as an excuse for a quiet, relaxing weekend.
Would the birds and small creatures living in the garden, have been frightened by tremors and resulting quake that accompanied the Resurrection Angel? St Matthew suggests that the Angel’s appearance was the cause of the earthquake. The burly Roman soldiers were so traumatized, they fainted in the chaos they experienced between the quake and the appearance of the glistening radiance of the Angel. These pagans were left stunned to the point of losing consciousness at the tumultuous arrival of the heavenly messenger.
The women who came to the tomb that morning for love of Christ, found this Angel in His radiance expecting them. Perhaps they may have found the radiance of his appearance frightening at first, but he reassured them, and allayed their fears. Giving the women the wonderful news that Jesus Christ had overcome the brutal death that they had witnessed, He directed them to go share with the disciples that Jesus’ tomb was empty, and that He was alive. With their enthusiastic departure, morning calm might have returned to the garden.
I imagined the scenes that a nesting songbird might have observed from an overhead nest, looking down from the branches, as later Peter and John came to the tomb, to verify for themselves that the women hadn’t been mistaken. Their visit would have been followed, after some time, a visit from the living Christ, Himself. Maybe the birds watched and listened, as Jesus’ words comforted Mary Magdalene when in her tears and grief His gentle voice told her that she could stop her weeping because he was alive.
Yes, the familiar robin’s songs were the background music for my reflections on the different scenes that contribute to the wonder and the reality of the resurrection. Over the course of your lent were you able to take a few moments to ponder the wonders and mysteries of the resurrection? I know that many of us make time especially on Fridays to attend the Stations of the Cross. This tradition gives us such a great opportunity to meditate on the sacrifice our Lord has made for our salvation. But the Resurrection brings us a series of vignettes that will inspire our hearts as well.
I hope that, as women we will find ourselves refreshed and filled with joy as we experience the Easter Season. Our lives are blessed with meaning purpose and hope because of the “Life” we find in Christ. He is our friend who never leaves… He cannot die… We will never find ourselves abandoned, In the garden of our hurts, disappointment or grief, He will come as he did to that garden where Mary Magdalene wept over the loss of her friend, her savior, her hope. As we reflect this Easter on all of this, in the context of our own life that may include pain, loss, sorrow of our own, may we, like Mary find comfort and hope as the voice of Christ reassures us that He is here as he speaks our name.
