Lent and Ash Wednesday

 When we think Easter, we think resurrection. The victory, the empty tomb, the triumphant “Oh, death where is thy sting?”  But before resurrection there was death, the cross, the stripping away, the agony of the Garden, the betrayal, the Last Supper, the conflicted Palm Sunday.... the preparation.  For the forty days until Easter, I want to think on these things and share my ponderings with you.

Some of us in the Protestant strean of faith aren’t too sure about Lent. It’s Catholic, right?  And some internet discussion are less than helpful.

Lent is a time when some Christians try to overcome their own faults because they believe that it was man's sin which led Jesus to be crucified.
Some Christians try to follow the example of Jesus in the desert by giving up luxuries and practising self-discipline. And they try to put aside more time to prayer and religious acts so that they can really let God into their lives.http://www.projectbritain.com/lent.html


“If you are in a Christian denomination that observes Lent, you know the question. It pops up about this time every year. Say it with me, "What did you give up for Lent?" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-sandlin/dont-get-caught-in-the-lent-trap_b_2658983.html
 

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I want to appreciate the structure of the Christian church calendar this year. I loved Advent - preparing, expecting, anticipating. I want to understand and observe Lent. 




 So this week, I went to a small Anglican church here in Tucson and a Lenten service, their observance of Ash Wednesday.  I knelt at the altar rail and heard the words, “Remember man is dust, and to dust you shall return”. Over and over. Not merely murmured over the faithful. Deliberately spoken to each of us kneeling there.  Thoughtful. Life is short.

The ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday palms were burned and now mark a black sooty cross on my forehead.

We continued to kneel and Communion or the Eucharist was served.  Again words, familiar in an Anglican/Episcopalian service, were proclaimed over us,

“Draw near with faith,

receive the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which He gave you,

and His Blood which He shed for you.

Eat and drink in remembrance that He died for you.

and feed on Him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving.”  

And they were spoken over each of us as we were given a thin host, dipped into the wine from a silver cup.  Again and again. Not as a dirge, not a cursory and memorized script. It was a holy moment, a deliberate blessing of each of us as we knelt and waited. 

Waiting.  Lent is another waiting.

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Before we  went forward to kneel at the rail, the young priest gave his homily or sermon.  He encouraged us not to focus on our sins, or even on our repentance but on the duty, the obligation, the given of worship because God is owed our total allegiance. His majesty demands it and yet, He allows us to choose, but any time we chose our will over His, we interrupt that worship. Yes, at this season especially, we do examine ourselves and confess our sins,  for Lent is a time to face the obstacles  that hold us back from fully loving God.  

As Mark Sanlin’s Lent post continues, “Assess what is getting between you and your relationship with God. (Here's a hint: it is much less likely to be your desire for sweets and much more likely to be your desire to keep up with the Joneses. It is much less likely to be the glass of red wine you have at dinner and much more likely to be the attitude you have towards those who are not like you or disagree with you). Give up something that really gets in the way of your relationship with God.”

He is our Creator, our Lover.  

In this season of Lent, we come to Him,

we focus on Him because He is worthy.

He is very Life itself.  

I left the small church with a smudged  cross of ashes on my forehead. In the weeks to come, I want to remember “From dust to dust” and chose to draw near to Him, the only Eternity. To be aware of those attitudes of my heart that create walls against intimacy and worship. Repenting or turning from those walls.   Preparing to fully respond to the Passion of the Cross.  Waiting espectantly for the Resurrection.  



Would you join me? 

Drawing near, fully aware;

repenting,

preparing, waiting.  

Lent