Beginning the Journey

Good Morning All!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day that begins the holy season of Lent. Lent is the 6 weeks, 40 days, not counting Sundays, that lead us to the joy of Easter morning. And why don’t we count Sundays? Because as Christians, Sundays are set aside to celebrate the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.

So here we are, embarking on a holy journey; a solemn, soul-searching time; and in the midst of it all, we pause to worship God’s power and triumph over death. The rhythmic pattern we will experience in worship will be a mixture, a blending of both death to self and life eternal. The kind of soul-searching to which we are called has to do with whatever transforms us into new beings through God’s grace. Amid the stresses of everyday life, the economic challenges, the search for meaningful work, the cries of those in need of life’s basics in our own community and around the globe; the maiming and killing in so many places; and in particular, our involvement in the war in Iraq & the escalation of events in Afghanistan, we come to this holy season in need of the rest and renewal that our journey of faith offers each of us. This time in our spiritual quest calls us to intentional times of prayer and meditation.

We are being called to be faithful in our attendance in worship and study as a faith community to seek wisdom and insight; comfort and solace. We are called to be there for one another; to uphold one another; to help each other in times of struggle; and when necessary, to carry one another’s burdens for a while. Through it all, God, as our constant companion gives each of us the strength and courage to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.

But even more than all this, as pilgrims in the faith, we are called to an even more radical understanding of this holy season; and it has to do with how we choose to live in response to the cries and needs of this life. We are called to identify with Jesus and the same Spirit that led him into and out of the wilderness and back into the everyday world.

According to Marcus Borg, in his sermon, Taking Jesus Seriously, Ash Wednesday is a time for giving one’s own word that we will live with the same compassion and justice as Jesus’ disciples in the everyday world. And in doing so we will indeed renounce our sins of turning away from our responsibilities for those who are marginalized—the poor, the oppressed, those who are discriminated against and devastated; who are rendered powerless and voiceless and who turn to you and me for strength and courage; to give voice to their needs and concerns.

Some of us choose to adopt the Roman Catholic practice to “give up” something we value or desire for the next few weeks, only to gorge ourselves with whatever we have given up, on Easter morning and the days that follow. Personally I have found it far more rewarding to engage in the discipline of “adding” something to my daily life; some one thing that will make my life more fulfilled. Perhaps the one discipline you and I choose to take on can truly make a difference in the life or lives of another. So, who is it who needs to experience our compassion? Who is it who needs us to cry out for justice on their behalf? Who are the hungry; the naked, the homeless, the oppressed, the disenfranchised? “Open our eyes Lord, we need to see Jesus…”

Tonight, we will gather for a brief Ash Wednesday service at 7:30pm (childcare provided). We will be called to move closer and closer to the One who offers us all that is needed to help us drink deeply of the Spirit that brings new life even to the dead. We will receive the sign of the ashen cross upon our foreheads reminding us of our humble beginnings and our common human end. The Journey to Jerusalem begins with a single step…Let’s get started… Blessings, Joanne