Wednesday, February 25, 2009

As We Prepare for Lent...


Before looking ahead to this evening's Ash Wednesday service and the Lenten season, I want to thank you for making our All-Alleluia Saturday and Fat Sunday services amazing affirmations of the joy and hope we live into as followers of Christ. I also want to encourage you to remember that the joy and hope flows in both directions, for our God is a "happy God" who delights in each of us as well!

Don't forget that for a moment, even as we enter into the deep solemnity and reflection of our Ash Wednesday service tonight. Ash Wednesday does mark the beginning of Lent, but it doesn't mean the end of our joy, our hope, or our celebration of God's love and forgiveness. Not for one moment should we forget that we are Easter people, assured of God's unconditional love and unending forgiveness through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lent, here's a brief explanation: The Catholic Church began to observe Lent in the fourth century. Lent lasts 40 week days, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter. Since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent. They are referred to as the Sundays in Lent.

Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were awaiting baptism. During Lent, those who were to be baptized observed a period of study and prayer before they were baptized at the Easter Vigil, early on Easter Sunday. Since the newly baptized members were entering into the larger community of Faith, the entire community was asked to prepare with study and prayer.

Many Protestant Christians are only recently beginning to reclaim the observance of Lent. The evangelical Christians, especially, have rejected Lent because it is associated with "high church" and Catholicism. But now many Protestant churches are observing the season of Lenten reflection as a way to refocus on spirituality.

Here at MCC Austin, we are claiming Lent as a time to Renew, Reuse, Rejoice, and Resurrect our spiritual selves. We invite you to attend our Ash Wednesday service tonight and use it as a way to "set apart" the sacred season of Lent. Then, we encourage you to engage in some type of personal spiritual practice throughout the season. Prayer, reading, fasting, and serving others are some of the practices you might take on during the 40 days of Lent. Many of us will be committing to a "Carbon Fast," and we will engage in practices that will help us reduce our individual "carbon footprints." In this way we will be worshiping God by renewing our covenant relationship with all of God's creation. A description of the "Carbon Fast" and suggestions for each day of Lent will be printed in tonight's worship bulletin and in our Lenten worship bulletin. In addition, we'll send out a "Carbon Fast" daily devotional beginning today and continuing each Friday in Lent.

For those of you who regularly observe Lent and for those of you who may be observing Lent for the first time, I pray that this Lenten season is a time of wonderful renewal and refreshment for your spirit.

God Bless and Keep You Always...