Christ Brings Life in Abundance

Summer colors have arrived. Step outside the door and you are met with deep greens, the
vivid blue sky, and bright sunlight. The browns of winter have fully given way to the greens of
summer. In the church, summertime coincides with the season of Trinity, the longest season of
the church year. Green paraments, banners, and stoles reflect the riot of green in which God has
clothed the countryside. Green is a color of life, of vibrant vitality. The green colors in church
remind us that Christ has come to bring life, and bring it abundantly.

During Trinity we focus on the Christian life. God Himself is the source of life, the
Creator of all that is. The Trinitarian life into which the baptismal waters take us is one of ever-
new life. Newness of life is given to us by the red stained cross, and covered in the precious
blood of Christ we may enjoy the green, cool grass of paradise eternally. When we are brought
into the loving relationship that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share, we become new creatures.
Receiving the love of God, we love in return. Our status as God’s children does not depend on
our love, but God’s. It is He who enables us to love. Any love that is within us has its origin
outside of ourselves. All love begins in God. His is the only true love, the only love worth
having. All human love is a reflection or a shadow of this great, all-encompassing divine love.

As members of the Church we receive this love. We receive this love when we gather
together to when we receive His absolution that takes away sin, when we hear the Gospel
proclaimed through the preaching of the Word, and when we receive the true body and blood of
Christ in His Sacrament of the Altar. These great gifts of love are offered every Sunday. Come to
be refreshed, to be renewed and given the life that God has to give. In this way we participate in
the Trinity’s life of love.