Have any of you ever raised chickens?  Or have you visited a farm or perhaps a zoo where you might have seen a mother hen sitting on a nest of eggs?  Have you ever thought about what it must be like to be a baby chick inside one of those eggs?

Let’s talk about that.  A day or so before the chick is ready to be hatched it moves inside the egg so its head is near the large end of the egg where there is more space for air.

 
The egg I am showing you today is from the grocery store and this is the kind of egg we eat, not the kind that has a chick inside.

When it is about time for the chick to be hatched it pushes its head through a thin skin inside the egg.  Now its head is in the place where there is more air and it begins to breathe.

Then, perhaps the most exciting part, the chick begins to peck at the inside of the shell using its beak.  The chick pecks at the shell thousands of times until, finally, the shell cracks and the chick is able to come out and into the world. 

We are talking about chicks today because they are one of the symbols the church uses to describe Easter.  Baby chicks remind us that Easter is about new life.  The Bible tells us that after Jesus died he was given new life and rose up to be with God.

Each one of us, as we accept God’s love, is given new life.  This new life helps us become a better, more loving person.  It is like coming out of a shell and experiencing all the exciting, beautiful things in God’s world.  Look around and see what’s in God’s world.  God created all of this for you.  And everywhere you go, spread new life and love.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Uncategorized Children's Homily Clergy Easter The Rev. Charles C. McCoart Jr.