OUR LENTEN JOURNEY BEGINS
The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for the forty days preceding Easter, not counting Sundays. Why forty days? The number forty echoes the number of years the Hebrews, freed from bondage in Egypt, wandered through the wilderness toward the Promised Land. Forty is the number of days at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry that he spent in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil.
During Lent we are invited to journey with Jesus through the last days of his earthly ministry as he headed for Jerusalem, where he was to be arrested, tried, beaten and crucified. The season of Lent offers great meaning, not only for every individual, but also for our congregation as well.
For Christians, Lent is not so much a time for giving up something. Rather, it is a time for taking on an intention to grow inwardly and outwardly in God’s grace. The disciplines of our Lenten journey can lead to our more faithful witness and service.
Lent calls us to a journey that deepens our spiritual growth and our relationship with God. The journey inward involves repentance, prayer, meditation, and confession. Acknowledging God’s forgiveness, we grasp a hopeful vision of the world and of human possibilities through the power of God’s love. We listen for God’s call to us and seek to discern God’s will for our lives & for the life of the world.
Instead of focusing on “giving something up for Lent,” we strive to turn away from superfluous needs and to abstain from all that would estrange us from God, our true selves, our fellow human beings, and God’s creation.
Our outward journey of Lent leads us to turn our attention to the concrete needs of others, to seek their good through a ministry of caring action, and to give our time & money.
By traveling in an intentional manner through the days of Lent, we will be better prepared spiritually for the dazzling glory of Easter morning! For then we’ll be awed by God’s lavish and forgiving love for us shown in Christ’s resurrection!
During Lent we are invited to journey with Jesus through the last days of his earthly ministry as he headed for Jerusalem, where he was to be arrested, tried, beaten and crucified. The season of Lent offers great meaning, not only for every individual, but also for our congregation as well.
For Christians, Lent is not so much a time for giving up something. Rather, it is a time for taking on an intention to grow inwardly and outwardly in God’s grace. The disciplines of our Lenten journey can lead to our more faithful witness and service.
Lent calls us to a journey that deepens our spiritual growth and our relationship with God. The journey inward involves repentance, prayer, meditation, and confession. Acknowledging God’s forgiveness, we grasp a hopeful vision of the world and of human possibilities through the power of God’s love. We listen for God’s call to us and seek to discern God’s will for our lives & for the life of the world.
Instead of focusing on “giving something up for Lent,” we strive to turn away from superfluous needs and to abstain from all that would estrange us from God, our true selves, our fellow human beings, and God’s creation.
Our outward journey of Lent leads us to turn our attention to the concrete needs of others, to seek their good through a ministry of caring action, and to give our time & money.
By traveling in an intentional manner through the days of Lent, we will be better prepared spiritually for the dazzling glory of Easter morning! For then we’ll be awed by God’s lavish and forgiving love for us shown in Christ’s resurrection!
