Sunday, April 03, 2016

Earina autumnalis: the downunder easter lily

easterorchid

Earina autumnalis, Maori name Raupeka, is a New Zealand native. It flowers in autumn.

Downunder, in the southern hemisphere, Easter is celebrated in autumn. There are no spring flowers, no Easter lilies, no signs of new life after the death of winter.

Instead we have Easter orchids. They flower during Easter. Although small and fragile (each flower is a mere 10-13 mm), they are a downunder sign of Easter life. They are strongly scented, one of the few NZ orchids to be scented. In the forest, they are as “the sweet aroma of Christ”; a sign of presence. The seeds are so tiny, they need an associated fungi to provide the food to germinate. Thus they rely on what goes before, just as Easter Sunday relies on Good Friday.

For a church searching for contextual faith, Earina autumnalis, the Easter orchid, is worth seeking.

Posted by steve at 06:57 PM

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