From the Pastor - March 2017

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A popular meteorological aphorism for March is: “In like lion, out like a lamb.”  It suggests that if the weather is cold and nasty early in the month, it will become warm and pleasant by the end of the month. 

While the Farmers’ Almanac gives no credence to this saying, it traces the origin of it to the belief “that there should be a balance in weather and life.”1 

In a religious context, the two metaphors of lion and lamb have nothing to do with weather, but both have been used for Jesus.  In Revelation 5:5-6, the seer describes Jesus as both Judah’s victorious lion and the sacrificed lamb that lives. 

If we were to apply these metaphors to our spiritual lives, I would suggest that the idea of balance is a good one.  The lion metaphor implies courage and power.  The lamb metaphor suggests humility and gentleness.  Being a lion without the lamb could lead to arrogance and temerity.  Being a lamb without the lion could result in fearfulness and timidity. 

As we live with love for God and neighbor, we need the boldness of a lion, so that we are not intimidated.  We also need the gentleness of a lamb, so that we are not overbearing. 

In Philippians 2, the apostle Paul urges us to take courage and strength from Christ, so that we may exhibit tenderness and humility toward other people.  He quotes an ancient hymn of Christ:

Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.  But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore, God highly honored him and gave him a name above all names, so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.2

We enter the penitential season of Lent with an awareness of the Easter victory, trusting in God’s power and mercy to save us.  May we be blessed with a balance of the Christly impulses of both the lion and the lamb.

Yours in Christ,
  

Rev. Brian C. Smith

1 Sandi Duncan. "The Truth Behind "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb." Farmers' Almanac. March 01, 2010. Accessed February 16, 2017. http://farmersalmanac.com/weather/2010/03/01/the-truth-behind-in-like-a-lion-out-like-a-lamb/.

2 Philippians 2:6-11, CEB.

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