Believe it or not, the season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday and for many traditions, including mine, we will begin with an Ash Wednesday service. Now when I was growing up, the church I attended said little about Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Holy Friday, or even the word "lent". Maybe it was "too Catholic' or something. Or maybe there was a fear to be honest about reflecting upon sin and our human mortality. I don't know for sure.
If you really think about it, most people shy away from talking about sin, repentance, human limitations, and the fact that death is crouching at our door. We'd rather live in a world of denial, pretending all is okay and that it will be better tomorrow. But lent reminds us that we do live in a world of limitations, that we do live in a world infected by this thing we call sin, that we will not live forever. In fact we are here today, gone tomorrow.
One thing I appreciate about the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter is the opportunity to take a personal inventory - to look honestly at my own shortcomings (plenty of them), to reflect upon my relationship with God and others, and to honestly ask if I truly am prepared to die at a moment's notice. In our culture it is too easy to look at others faults, to blame others for our struggles, our problems, to sit on the pity pot crying about things that the rest of the world would beg to have or be a part of (food, clothing, work, school, church, etc). No, lent forces me to look at myself and see what I have allowed to get in the way of my relationship with God as well as what has hindered my relationships with others. And yes, that word is "sin".
The above picture references Psalm 51, a Psalm of confession, more specifically King David's confession before God regarding his sin with Bathsheba. I plan to read it daily during lent. I encourage you to do the same. It will do your heart good for it will enable you to focus on the One who can cleanse you and renew you as you move towards the celebration of Easter. I also encourage you to attend the special services that are offered in your local church. For you Mulvanites, we will hold a special Ash Wednesday service on the 9th at 7:00 in the sanctuary. In order to truly come to grips with the movement of the Lenten season, the participation in this service and the Holy Week services will help you prepare for the great celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday. To miss these services so often leaves a void, much like getting a gift but only opening it part way.
So join me in taking some time to reflect upon your spiritual condition this Lenten season. Read Psalm 51 daily. And turn your eyes from self to Jesus and his journey to the cross. For it is because of that cross that your sins have been forgiven. Lent is here and yes, Easter's comin'.
