February 2005
"A Season for Renewal"
The frigid cold that has come upon us as I write this message to you brings me to the stark reality that winter has finally arrived. As I gaze out the window I can’t help but see the cold white blanket of snow over all the land as nature hibernates. It quietly waits to be revived by the return of warmth that comes with spring. I too, look forward to longer days and the warmth of the sun.
I find that as I grow older, my tolerance for and appreciation of the things of winter grows less – although I do find great pleasure in cleaning the snow off the driveway with the snow blower. I don’t know why; it’s just something I like to do. February brings with it a lot of cold and snow, but February also marks the beginning of the season of Lent.
Lent is the forty day period which begins with Ash Wednesday and concludes the Saturday before Easter. Now I hope that some of you grabbed your calendars and noticed that Ash Wednesday this year is on February 9th and Easter is March 26th. As you counted off the 40 days of Lent, you came up short of Easter – in fact it took 46 days to get from Ash Wednesday to Easter. That’s because the six Sundays that occur during the Lenten season are not counted as part of the 40 days because every Sunday is seen as a commemoration of the resurrection of Christ; like little Easters.
Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized. It was a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, which was the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter morning. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Lent was also the time when those who had been separated from the Church would prepare to rejoin the community.
Ash Wednesday, the seventh Wednesday before Easter, is the first day of the season of Lent. Its name comes from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshipers’ heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the world. It not only pre-figures the mourning at the death of Jesus, but also places the worshiper in a position to realize the consequences of sin.
Lent provides us with a very special opportunity to reflect on who we would be apart from Christ. Lent offers us the opportunity to honestly examine ourselves and gain a renewed sense of our own unworthiness before God. During this Lenten season, I pray that God’s Spirit will move in us in mighty ways. I pray that each one of us can find in ourselves the humility that cries out, "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." And then may we find that mercy in the indescribably wonderful gift that God has given us through his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we all move to new and marvelous depths in our relationship with Christ and with each other. AMEN.
Grace and Peace, Pastor Rob
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