A Journey through Christendom's Most Holy time of Year

The Liturgical Season of Lent:

Lent is the season of prayerful journey and self-reflection. It is the forty days plus the six Sundays of preparation and self-denial that lead up to Easter. For centuries, Lent has been observed as a special time of personal examination and penitence. Today we find ourselves in a barren season that beacons us to concentrate on our fundamental Christian values and priorities. Contrary to the views of many, the season of Lent is not a time for self punishment; instead it is a time of letting go of those things that cut us off from God. Lent is a time in our spiritual lives in which we are called by God to prepare our hearts for the redeeming love of Christ.

Perhaps we find ourselves living in this world as one of the many aimlessly lapsed Christians, wandering away from church and neglecting our spiritual lives. For centuries, Lent has offered God's people the opportunity to return to the fellowship of the church. In fact the season of Lent historically is a period in the life of the church in which the lapsed, as well as those who have committed notorious sins were received back into the community of faith. If you are questioning your own faith and wondering what to believe, this is a most appropriate reflect and ask the difficult questions with sincerity and truth. For some Lent is a pathway that leads back into the Body of Christ or the Church.

Throughout Lent, the worship services of the church take on a simpler tone, appropriate to this season. Crosses showing the risen Christ are veiled. The word "Alleluia" is not used in the words of the liturgy or hymns. These practices help the worshipping community to mark this season of renewal as a special time in the church year.

Observing a Holy Lent ~ The custom is to mark the season of Lent by giving up some things and taking on others. Both can serve to mark the season as a holy time of preparation. Some examples of things people give up for Lent include sweets, meat for all or some meals, and alcohol. In most cases, giving up something for Lent can be made more meaningful by using the money or time for another purpose. For example, meal times on fast days could be spent in prayer. Another example is that if you give up meat during Lent, the extra money that would go to meat dishes can be given to a group, such as World Vision, which works to end hunger worldwide. Some things added during Lent are daily Bible reading, fasting on Fridays, times of prayer, taking a course of study related in some way to spirituality.

Note that the season of Lent is forty days plus the six Sundays. This is because Sundays are celebrations of Jesus’ resurrection and are always an appropriate day to lessen the restrictions of Lent. So that if you have, for example, given up chocolate for Lent, you could indulge in a weekly candy bar on Sunday.

The Sacrament of Confession ~ Lent is also an especially appropriate time for the sacrament of confession. While confession to a priest is not required to receive God’s forgiveness, it can be a meaningful rite of reconciliation to God.

Special Days and Services:

Shrove Tuesday ~ This is actually the day before Lent begins. The day is named for the "shriving" or confessing that was traditional on this day before beginning Lent. This day is also known as Maddi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," because it was a time for eating the things from which one would abstain during Lent. Pancake suppers are traditional as they were a way of using up some of the ingredients not needed during Lent.

Ash Wednesday ~ The first day of Lent is marked with a special liturgy. The theme for the day, though not for all of Lent, is that we stand as sinners condemned to die, but for God’s grace. This is symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, with the words, "You are dust and to dust you shall return." In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of penitence (feeling regretful at offenses) and mourning.

Ash Wednesday is one of two days of special observance (the other being Good Friday) for which fasting is recommended. While this usually refers going without food for the entire day, this practice is not practical for all persons, including, but not limited to, diabetics. Use your own discretion in determining how you can best observe this day.

Stations of the Cross ~ These are depictions of 14 incidents in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death from Pilate’s house to being placed in the tomb. They are used for the service called the Way of the Cross, which visits each station in turn with a brief reading, response, collect and on some occasions, a meditation. This is particularly appropriate for Good Friday.

Palm Sunday ~ This Sunday before Easter is the last Sunday in Lent. The day commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with a blessing of palms and a procession in which the whole congregation carries palms. The day is also marked by reading the story of Jesus’ passion (the word used to describe Jesus’ death comes from "suffering," which is one old meaning of passion).

Maundy Thursday ~ This is the Thursday in Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter). The day is a time for remembering The Last Supper. The name comes from the Latin word "Maundatum" for "commandment" as Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment; that you love one another." This is also the moment in which Jesus showed his disciples the meaning of servant hood by washing their feet. We will observe the foot washing during the liturgy. At the conclusion of this service, altars are stripped of any ornamentation and crosses are removed or veiled to mark the solemnness of the occasion.

Good Friday ~ The Friday in Holy Week is a time for remembering Jesus death. Traditionally there is a Good Friday service at noon as Jesus hung on the cross from noon until 3 p.m. This is the second day of special observance for which fasting is recommended. One should use discretion in decided how best to observe this day. There is no celebration of Communion from Maundy Thursday until the Easter Vigil on late Saturday or early Sunday. However, it is customary in many churches to give out the elements of communion blessed during the Maundy Thursday service.

The Easter Vigil ~ This service is appropriate from after sunset on Holy Saturday until sunrise Easter morning. This is our most ancient Christian Liturgy. In the early Christian Church it was the traditional time of baptism, reaffirmation and reconciliation. This service begins in darkness and a new fire is lit, from which the Christ candle is lighted. It signifies the light of Christ coming into the world anew at the resurrection. This service ends the season of Lent and begins the joy of the Easter season.

I'm with Peter!

In the 16th c. the Pope sent Jesuit missionary’s into China in order to evangelize the huge population. He had them take art work with them that depicted scenes from Jesus’ life. He thought this would assist with the obvious challenge of the language barrier. Interestingly the Chinese people took an instant liking to paintings of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. However, when it came to depictions of the crucifixion and the missionary’s explanation that this was the same child that Mary was holding, they were shocked. The Chinese people were even more disturbed that this Child was the Christian God and that was treated so repulsively. They were horrified to see how Jesus was made to suffer and ultimately die. This was extremely counter cultural to them, so the Chinese people decided they would rather worship the Blessed Mother Mary, since she was pictured in love and adoration for the child.

None of us likes suffering do we? It is counter cultural to our need to survive and live. When Jesus tells the disciples that he must be delivered into the hands of his enemies, suffer and die by crucifixion, they naturally were appalled. Peter, who had just identified Jesus as the Messiah (after all Peter is the guy in the bunch who most often spoke first and thought later) – he was the stunned enough to actually rebuke Jesus. Think about it for one moment and put yourself in Peter’s shoes (or sandals). He and the rest of the disciples had witnessed Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons and work miracles. Jesus was their hope; Jesus was their leader; Jesus was their inspiration. Yet, Jesus must die.

Well, I don’t know about you all but I’m with Peter! I would have had the same reaction. I would have been just as confused, protective and ready to argue with Jesus as Peter. I would have been ready to keep my dear friend safe and secure. Friends protect friends; that is the way love and friendship work! There would be no reason for useless suffering. Look at all the good Jesus was doing for his people. Like the Chinese, I would have been repulsed had Jesus revealed his hideous fate on the cross; one that was reserved for thieves, murderers and rebels.

Jesus reaction to Peter was even harsher than Peter’s reaction to him. The Greek word Mark used for ~ rebuke ~ is the exact same word he uses when Jesus casts out demons. This was a very serious rebuke! It was a direct command with the authority of God. Jesus would not be tempted. He knew this was one of those moments that the Adversary seized to try and derail his divine mission; even though the temptation came in the form of concern from an innocent and loving friend.

Jesus mission was one of love and sacrifice. In the process he redefined discipleship. Jesus says, “Set your mind on divine things, not human things.” And here is the real kicker, he says, “Be ready to suffer!” Suffer! That’s right, you heard me correctly. To be a follower of Jesus means that we must become willing to suffer. What Mark is telling us is that self-sacrifice, self-abandonment and self-empting are at the very core of God’s divine love for all creation. Jesus is telling us that in order to follow him, we are called to suffer through the same self-sacrificial acts. This is what he means when he says, “In order to save you life you must lose it.”

One January afternoon in 2007, 50-year-old Wesley Autrey was waiting with his two young daughters to board a train at Broadway’s 137th Street station in Manhattan, when the unthinkable happened. According to cbsnews.com, Cameron Hollopeter, 19, fell onto the subway tracks while suffering a seizure, just as an oncoming train was approaching. In a split second Autrey, a construction worker and Vietnam War veteran jumped onto the tracks to save him. As the train barreled toward them, unable to stop in time, Autrey realized he could not lift Hollopeter to safety. So he threw his body on top of the still convulsing young man, pinning him down in the shallow drainage trough, roughly a foot deep, between the tracks. The train’s front two cars rolled over them with just about two precious inches to spare before the operator was able to bring it to a stop. Hollopeter and Autrey emerged largely unharmed. Cheers erupted and Autrey was hailed as a hero. But Autrey, as humble as he was brave, told The New York Times, “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right.”

Wesley Autrey provides us with an incredible example of what it means to deny ourselves of our self, and give to others (even those we do not know) in unconditional love and sacrifice.

In this season of Lent we often give up things, by denying ourselves chocolate, coffee, sodas, TV or something important to our daily lives. While this act is an important reminder of the act of sacrifice, God’s call to follow him is far deeper and demanding than these (often inconvenient) but small reminders. Jesus wants us to give to God ~ our complete selves: our thoughts; our dreams; our egos; our goals; our burdens and problems. God wants every single little piece of us.

The path to sacrifice is what leads us to God and allows us to identify with God. While this is counter culture to the world, God made the world and God put his unconditional love and labor into our very existence. Therefore we should really flip this around and say, “The world is counter cultural to the original way God created and brought it into existence.”

Mr. Autrey understood something that the Chinese culture of the 16th c. had not yet learned: Jesus defines true discipleship as a way of life that imitates God. Since God made himself vulnerable to the extreme (ultimately allowing the Son to perish on the cross) he calls us (you and I) to the same life of vulnerability. Our God loves us so much that he longs to be in communion with us, and will go to what ever length required to show us. God gives so completely of God’s self (to us) that nothing is ever held back in reserve.

So, whether it is leaving the comforts of home and traveling all the way around the world on mission; whether it is jumping on a train track, using our own body to shield and protect a complete stranger from the train; whether it is saying the blessing before a meal in the restaurant in order to give God thanks, at the expense of a few stares – Christ is calling us to a life of self-sacrifice; one that demands all of us (heart, mind, and body). God holds nothing back and neither should we.

As we follow this road of Lent together. I pray that we continue to keep our attention focused on Jerusalem and the cross. While the heavy burden and fear will only grow and become darker over the next few weeks, we shouldn’t over look one tiny, but major and significant statement Jesus makes at the very end of this mornings passage from Mark. After he tells the disciple of his fatal destination and fate, he says, “And on the third day I will rise again.” In all the shock, the disciples missed that one liner! God is reminding us that through Jesus’ suffering that we are promised life eternal. When giving of ourselves unconditionally don’t forget the beautiful reward that awaits us all.

Floods, Deserts and Dust. It Must be Lent!

The shadow of Lent has fallen upon us. The light of the Epiphany has dimmed and been covered. The dark cloud of inevitable death is only a stones throw away. God has empowered his only begotten Son with a mission of salvation to all creation. While this isn’t the first time God has made a covenant (or promise) with his creation, this will be the ultimate and last covenant necessary.

Long before Jesus is sent on his divine salvific mission, there is the story of Noah. Once again we learn that God has become displeased and disgusted with his very free, but very broken creation. Once again God looks down at not only humanity’s waywardness, but on at the negative effect we have had on the rest of his creation. One would think that we might have learned something in the Garden of Eden. But that is the nature of sin. Left unchecked it continues to repeat its destructive patterns over and over again; each time becoming a little worse until it has consumed all the things it touches (especially us) cutting us off from the light and love of God.

In this mornings reading from the Book of Genesis we find the whole earth at fault before God. God’s patience is gone. His tolerance of humanity’s self-centered, faithless behavior is at its end. God will no longer allow his creation to live in such a filthy and sinful manner. So He brings the flood. Since all of God’s creation is closely linked the destruction of the earth and all living things is part of God’s divine plan. Yet we have a loving God. A God whose nature it is to create; and rather than wipe out his work completely, God has his faithful servant Noah build an ark and herd two of every kind of animal (both male and female) aboard the big boat. Now, I used to work for the Biology Department while in college at UGA. I was the animal caretaker for the lab animals. That smelled bad enough, but can you imagine what the ark must have smelled like?! I often wonder who got the job of cleaning the stalls.

The important thing to note about the flood story is that after it was all over, God made a covenant with Noah. He said he would never again destroy the earth by flood waters. To mark the sign of this covenant he hung a beautiful rainbow in the sky. In Christ Jesus, God will do the same for us. Accept rather than hang a rainbow in the sky, he will hang his only Son from a cross.

In today’s reading from Mark, we witness Jesus’ baptism and literal expulsion into the Judean desert (not a good place to be). This reading in Mark is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his people and eventually to all creation. In many ways, Jesus is the “New Ark.” We find Jesus suffering through merciless temptation for 40 days, with the wild beasts and angels. (You see) once again we see that all creation is linked.

As we look at the nature of God and his covenants, there are interesting parallels between today’s two readings:

In Genesis the clouds form and the rain pours down. In Mark the heavens are violently torn apart at Jesus’ baptism, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a Dove.
In Genesis, Noah floats on the waters for 40 days; adrift in a wet and abandoned world. There is a dark void where abundant life used to exist. In Mark, Jesus is set adrift in the desert. For 40 days he endures the desolate void found in a dry and abandoned waste land.
In Genesis, Noah herds God’s creatures into the ark and cares for them during this 40 day period. In Mark, Jesus draws the desert creatures to himself. He is God’s new Ark or refuge.

We don’t know what kind of sailing Noah experienced during the flood. We are not told if he faced terrible waves and violent tempests. But we do know that Jesus faced a terrible onslaught by the Adversary; an attack meant to derail and destroy the future hope of God’s creation. If Jesus gave in or failed, the world was doomed. But as we all know, where Adam failed in the Garden of Eden, Jesus will succeed in the Judean desert. And just as the flood waters eventually subside, so does Jesus’ wilderness exile. God’s plan for redeeming all creation is now in motion.

All too often we find ourselves adrift in this world. We find ourselves frightened, worried and consumed with the weight of our problems. Perhaps we long for the heavens to open up and have God deliver us. Perhaps we desperately hope to find refuge and sanctuary on a rescue boat, as we slowly drown in a sea of doubt and despair.

There is no doubt that today’s world is a difficult place to exist. We all have major worries. If it is not the deflated economy, it is the violence we see in society. If it is not war and conflict, it is the abuse of the innocent. We exist in a very harsh and world in which the Adversary is always brewing up a new tempest or sand storm to make our lives difficult, full of doubt and distracted. This is why it is absolutely vital that we remember that Jesus (the New Covenant) is (dare I say the word!) our Bailout Package. Except unlike the monstrosity in Washington, this bailout comes at no cost without interest. This morning as Jesus undertakes his mission to redeem the world, deep down in creation a change is subtly taking place. Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, the Adversary knows that he has already lost the battle. While he will make a few subtle returns, Jesus will not fall for his tricks or ploys. Jesus has turned his face toward Jerusalem and the cross. Lent has begun.

As we undertake this Lenten journey with Christ; the more faithfully we commit ourselves to stay the path; the less power our fears will have over us. Please remember, no matter what storms or hardships we face, God is faithful and God will not abandon us. Through Christ Jesus our Lord we have a new hope and a new life. So, please – join me and together, (together) we will take this Lenten journey – (a journey) which will eventually lead to the greatest bailout package of all – the Resurrection.