Dear Friends,
As you can see I am trying out yet another email sending service, and I hope this one will work a bit better!
Lent is a really good time for doing this sort of thing, especially in our spiritual lives. Trying new ways, or re kindling things that have fallen by the wayside which help us to hear God better. Most importantly is is a time not to punish ourselves for not being perfect but to tune ourselves more into God's frequency.
The tradition of Lent is linked to Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the desert before beginning His ministry. The tradition has evolved from the preparation of new believers to be baptised at the Easter vigil, but by the 4th century it was extended to a preparation for all.
I like preparing
for things, being ready – having all I need, knowing what is required of me, so in order to prepare for Lent I find myself reflecting on Easter. The Liturgical year takes us on a journey through our faith drawing our focus to different aspects of it at different times. Easter is the pinnacle and cornerstone of our faith, we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus and the new life we find in Christ. The basic tenant of the Christian faith is that Christ’s death and resurrection we (who ever
we are) are restored as God’s children. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul describes salvation very clearly as God’s doing not ours.
But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in
kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
So, Lent is not about giving up the things we think are bad for us anyway,
or about punishing ourselves for not being good enough, or about trying to earn our salvation by chalking up points. Lent is about coming face to face with who we are in Christ, loved, forgiven, children of God called to be loving and forgiving.
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, not to earn our salvation but to realise that we cannot. In the
Liturgical year Lent is the time that we strive put aside all that gets in the way of our holding firm to our being who we are in Christ. Lent is like a spring clean for the soul, firmly avowed that we won’t let it get that messy again, but knowing that we probably will.
Lent is about preparing, it is also about journeying towards Easter, learning again and again to
let go of those things we grasp so tightly so that we can receive open handed and open hearted of God’s love and grace through the death and resurrection of Christ.
The three challenges of Lent
Lent is a time for us to change our lives and grow in holiness. Through the three challenges Lent gives us - fasting (giving up), almsgiving (giving to others) and prayer, we work on developing a closer relationship to God. Our 40 days should be filled with reflection, service and spending time with God in prayer. Over the next few weeks I'll share a bit more about these three pillars or challenges of
Lent.
With prayers for a Holy Lent
Fr Dylan (Vicar)
