“You have been born anew, not of perishable but imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” That means you! Pay attention, Emily, Will, Olivia, Tony, Gail, Nick, Laura, Ryan, Grace, Dylan, Julia, and all God’s children; that is the good news of Easter.

Take time to let that good news soak into you. Sit with it for a bit and see what speaks to your life today. Perhaps it will be the phrase “born anew,” or “imperishable seed,” or “living and enduring,” or “word of God,” or something else entirely. As you reflect on the word or phrase that grabs your attention, you will likely see, hear, recognize its relevance in a way that has never occurred to you before. How will you respond to that revelation of God’s living and enduring Presence? Allow yourself to rest in that divine space. (Do you notice the lectio divina process: read, reflect, respond, rest?)

Today, the phrase that speaks to me is “imperishable seed,” recognizing that God is the Essence and Source of all, the indwelling presence of the Holy One that draws us, each and all, ever nearer in Divine Love. That imperishable seed is planted in each one of us the world over. It grows at different rates as we nourish it along the way. It is easy for us to see it blossoming in the full-blown rose of the Mother Teresas of the world. Some of us, on the other hand, have spread so much mulch or debris over the seed that it is hard for it to sprout. But God’s seed is indeed imperishable, waiting patiently for a crack to appear in what we have used to bury it so that it can push through into our consciousness, enabling us to be nourished by the living and enduring word of God, to become whole and holy, body, mind, and spirit. May the soil of our lives be rich and our efforts to support its growth be diligent.