It's Spring when a man's heart turns to planting trees and shrubs. Ask a nursery man "when is the best time to plant?" and he is likely to tell you, "twenty years ago."

If 20 years seems longer than you may want, or have to wait, consider some of the ancients. The Italian cathedral Duomo di Orvieto started construction in 1290 and took over 300 years to complete. Imagine working all your life on a project knowing it won't be finished for another 250 years.

The regret of an old man is time that was wasted.

Picking up shirts from the laundry a few days ago, I interrupted the girl behind the counter who seemed deeply involved in something important. "Sorry to disturb you" I said, putting my tickets on the counter.

"Oh, I'm glad for someone to come in. You can only play so many games of solitaire" she responded shrugging her shoulders. It had been a slow day and she was, as we say, killing time. What a short amount of time we have to occupy this space.

She probably needed the job, don't we all, but the endless succession of electronic games that even she found boring is too emblematic of the 21^st Century. Not to be condescending. Almost every computer has several games on it. Games are a favorite pastime for most of the world. Theme parks are a booming business. And even my cell phone came equipped with solitaire. Guess the manufacturer thought I couldn't stand to be away from it for too long.

In his book "Amusing Ourselves to Death" author Neil Postman recounts memorials of the American spirit in centuries past. The Minuteman Statue in Boston reminds us of people across the land who risked their lives to stand against the tyranny of King George III. The Statue of Liberty in New York harbor stands as a constant reminder of the "wretched refuge from all over the world disembarked at Ellis Island and spread over the land...."

What memorials symbolize America today he asks? The answer he says is found in Las Vegas, Nevada where we can find a thirty-foot-high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a chorus girl. This, according to Postman, is a metaphor for America's devotion to constant entertainment.

Postman references Aldous Huxley who feared "the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance."

As we enter this special season of the year, we have been left with a memorial, not a statue but something far more enduring. For more than three thousand five hundred years the Passover has stood as a memorial of the most important event that has ever occurred in the history of man. God gave his son to become the substitute for the curse of death placed on mankind.

Today I received a card that said Passover is "the most magnificent and thankful time of the year." Yes it is! In the midst of a sea of irrelevance, God offers us an opportunity to observe a memorial of our covenant with the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Until next time,