Lent

a verse or two

“Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1955

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Lent

There are forty days in Lent. The six Sundays during the season of Lent are considered as festival days and are not included in the counting of the forty, so the maths works out. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (for which we held a special service here last Wednesday evening) and concludes with Holy Week (the week we come face-to-face with the crux of our beliefs – the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ).

In Holy Week we join in on Palm Sunday with praising crowds of ancient Jerusalem to cheer with our waving palms Jesus as he enters the city being proclaimed Messiah, King. By Friday of Holy Week we have nailed Jesus to a cross, crucified him on a hill known as Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, alongside common criminals.

How do we get from Palm Sunday praise to Good Friday death? And what gives us the right to then celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday? Lent is a season of time in which we ask profound questions of ourselves and the faith we believe in. It is a time when we wonder at our need for, and in some cases just whether we do need, God. It is traditionally a time for examination, for fasting, for undertaking a discipline in which we may not only confess our faith but test it.

Some people will commit to giving up something they cherish, like sweets or alcohol. Others may be called to daily scripture reading. Others to daily prayer, silent or otherwise. The list of Lenten disciplines is inexhaustible. I encourage you to participate in some form of Lenten discipline. Why not prayerfully make your decision about what you will do during Lent. And please be kind with yourself, a failure of a day or two does not mean you should throw in the towel for the entire season of Lent. Our failures simply point us further toward our need for God, further toward Jerusalem, the cross, and the forgiveness and redemption of Easter. [Adapted from an article by Liz Hilton on Lent]

SOMETHING TO DO: Give up something for Lent

Many Christians opt to give up something for Lent--a particular habit, luxury, food, or activity. Are you giving up anything for Lent this year? Why or why not?

To Ponder and Pray: From the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.