Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour!
On Wednesday we began the 40 days (not including Sundays) before the celebration of Easter morning. Lent has traditionally been a reflective time of prayer, repentance, fasting, and renewal. One of the questions we are often confronted with is “What are you giving up/fasting from, through Lent this year?
The season of Lent is a journey with Jesus on the way to the cross where Jesus laid down his life in death, so that through his death, and resurrection on Easter morning, he could conquer sin and death and secure our salvation. Because salvation has come as a gift from God, through Jesus Christ, we are invited to live in the freedom of the new life that salvation brings.
The 40 days before Easter give us an annual time of reflection to ponder what has distracted us from the full life God saved us for. What do we need to give up, let go and get rid of? What is hindering fulness of life in our lives right now? What needs to die within us so that resurrection and new life can come? These are not easy questions to ponder but they are worthwhile questions. Through Lent we are invited to pray with the Psalmist.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive (or hurtful) way in me,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139)
Laurie McClure, author and Jesus apprentice says it well. “I want to make space for Easter celebration and joy in my heart. I want to rid the clutter that has built up during the pandemic. Irritation, loneliness, suspicion… have got to go! I long for more longing of the Holy Spirit’s fire within me! I want the kind of awe that the disciples felt staring at the empty tomb and seeing Jesus’ risen body standing before them!”
If we want to make space for new life and joy, and the awe of Easter morning, let’s do the work of Lent!
May you have a blessed and reflective Lent that will result in a life-filled Easter morning and a renewed season of life!
Pastor Ray