Ash Wednesday (3)

As we continue through the Ash Wednesday service, next would be the sermon.  But it is optional so I will move on to the next section:

Here the celebrant says (page 281-282)

"Dear friends in Christ, every year at the time of the Christian Passover we celebrate our redemption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is the time to prepare for this celebration and to renew out life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by remembering our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes, an ancient sign, speaking of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marking the penitence of the community as a whole.

I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and by reading and meditating on the word of God.
Let us kneel before our Creator and Redeemer."

We are almost half way through Lent.  Tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since Ash Wednesday and on Sunday it will be 3 weeks to Easter Sunday.  This is a good time to stop and ask ourselves, "How's it going?"

When I heard these words at the Ash Wednesday service, I got all excited and hopeful.  "Yes," I think, "this is going to be the Lent where I really am able to practice these disciplines and properly prepare for Easter".  I was optimistic and enthusiastic.  But then it didn't happen... or at least not the way I expected or planned.  Certain ideas for Lenten disciplines got quickly forgotten so that when a friend asked me how something was going, I initially couldn't remember what she was talking about.  I had already dropped the idea.   Facing my failure at "working my plan" is so good for me.  Why?  Because it helps me give up legalism for Lent and re-consider the purpose of this season.  "Remembering our need for repentance, and for the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ."  I need to make sure that my Lenten practices are actually drawing me toward God and helping me embrace the Gospel even more.  Lent can't be an opportunity for some undercover personal self-improvement program that is cloaked in spiritual language. It is quite the opposite.

Preparing myself for Easter is to see time and time again: I cannot make myself righteous, I need Jesus.  That is what the disciplines of self-examination, penitence, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and Scripture reading and meditation are for.  Decreasing our confidence in ourselves to save ourselves and increasing our confidence in Christ our Saviour. 

Why not take a few minutes to consider these ideas for yourself and ask: how is my Lent going this year? 

grace and peace,
Tracy

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