Pastor Hugh's Monthly Meditation
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Lent: a time of choosing
On March 1st, we observe Ash Wednesday, and thus begin the season of Lent. Lent, as many are aware, is the period of the church year that rests between Epiphany (with its emphasis on light and illumination) and Easter (where we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection).
Click on image to see a larger view of Kramskoy's, Christ in the Desert, in a separate window.
Lent is a season of intentional preparation. We begin our 40 day journey (we don’t count the Sundays in Lent) in order to better prepare ourselves for a more full-hearted celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. We are called to an honesty that seeks the truth, no matter what. It is, to use the language of 12-steps, a time to make “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” It is a journey inward, guided only by faith. And to get the most out of this period of preparation, it takes discipline.
But a question is begging to be asked. Why would any of us want to look that deeply within our souls? In a world where deviancy and decadence have been domesticated, where our culture’s attitude towards most things abhorrent is, “What ever,” why would we want to embark on a journey as challenging as this? One word: Life. Simply put, the disciplines of Lent promise literally to change our lives. They are a means to nurturing a closer relationship with the Source of life (God) and thus to give us life—one founded upon the two indispensable footings of freedom and responsibility.
The journey of Lent is not one we do on our own. We couldn’t take this road alone, for it would overwhelm us. We take our first step down this 40 day long road knowing that our Lord goes with us, and that he has intimate knowledge of our journey because of his own.
When Jesus began his ministry, immediately following his baptism by John, he did so by removing himself to the desert for 40 days of fasting, prayer, and temptation. It was there that he found the vision and resources necessary for his eventual journey—one that would take him to the executioner’s cross. It was because of his journey, that we are able to take that first step on ours.
In the painting, Christ in the Desert, by Ivan Kramskoy, we encounter a very human Jesus who appears weighed down by the heaviness of the decisions he must make. Proclaimed “The best Christ I ever saw,” by the famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, we can see in Jesus’ face signs of the tension and stress that his choice brings. Here we find a Jesus in whom we will see fulfilled those haunting words of Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Jesus calls us each to choose. Make a choice this Lent to come to him through the discipline of worship, prayer, and study. Come to him and find life, as you have never found it before.
This season we will offer several opportunities to assist you on your journey. The offering is given. The choice is yours. The promise is eternal.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
March 2006
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