Reflections
This past Wednesday, a moment we call Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the penitential season known as Lent. Rather than a theological/ liturgical discussion of all that this Lenten season is about, let me frame it as a season in our person spiritual journeys that is almost universal.
You may remember that I wrote of Advent as that season, hardly confined to the four Sundays preceding Christmas, where our serious spiritual journey begins. It may be a moment, but usually a season of our lives, when we become aware that something is missing. That ensuing search may take years as we struggle through own own darkness looking for something that we can hardly name.
Christmas is that moment (or season) when, like the shepherds and Wise Men, we find what we think we may have been led to. There is joy and excitement in what we are quick to believe is the end of our spiritual quest, especially as the meaning of what we found is being discovered. That is the nature of the Epiphany season, as we discover the depth of our discovery and begin to live into this emerging new reality in our lives.
Lent, is the season that transcends the calendar, but becomes that moment when disappointment appears. We, or those we love, are broken by life. “It was not supposed to be this way,” we say to ourselves. I have moments of doubt. Prayers appear not to be answered. We notice that evil has not been vanquished, and the world seems pretty much the same. Our days of naïvety are over. We find ourselves struggling at a depth different than our early quest, because earlier we thought we had found all that we needed to know.
Lent is that moment when we are forced to deal with failure and broken expectations, of ourselves and others. Looking toward the end of our Lenten season we see the a cross, high on Calvary’s hill. It’s that season where we see, with our blinders off, what we human beings, at our worst, are capable of. It can be a very painful time.
Lent is, of course, not the end. But it is a necessary part of a maturing soul. Thus, the words I spoke in the Ash Wednesday liturgy are always appropriate in these disappointing and disconcerting moments in our walk with Jesus:
“ I invite you…in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination, and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word…”
Regardless of the specific moments in our lives, when failure, doubt or sorrow seek to overwhelm us, that Lenten admonition is always a valuable guide that points us toward renewal, hope and, dare we say, Easter!
Other Matters of Importance
Pastoral Care Ministry-An organizational meeting for a new Pastoral Care ministry at Nativity will take place following worship this Sunday, February 26. Facilitated by Tina Frizzell, this ministry, in a variety of ways, will be an intentional “in reach”
to the Nativity community.
The effectiveness of this ministry will be dependent, in part, on the biographical information that we have in our church files. To that end, there are several spread sheets in the rear of the church with the most up to date info that we have at Nativity. Please check to see if you and your family’s info is correct and up to date. Thanks!
Bible Study- The Gospel of Mark
Our Lenten Bible Study continues this Sunday at 9:15-10:00am at the Tin. building(106 South Main). This week we are looking at chapters 3 and 4. Bring whatever version of the Bible you’d like.
Evening Prayer-Wednesdays in Lent-5:30pm
As she did during Advent, Tina Frizzell will be leading Evening Prayer at 5:30pm at Nativity. It is a quiet and reflective moment in the middle of the week, exactly suited to the reflective and solemn nature of the Lenten season.
Blessings and Peace!
Duncan
601-260-1937
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