Well friends, by the time you read this article we will be less than 3 weeks from Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Where does the time go? I just put the nativity away and already Easter bunnies and Easter eggs have arrived in the greeting card aisle at Target. Mercy.
It is not that I do not want to celebrate Easter for as long as possible, but it does feel like we barely catch our breath from Christmas angels and Epiphany visitors who followed a star, and immediately find ourselves looking at our reflection in the mirror to see how well the pastor placed the cross in ashes on our forehead this year.
Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is always a signpost on the road of faith. In earlier days of ministry, All Saints Sunday was the day that I would take notice of the names read aloud – faithful ones who had entered into the promise of eternal life. Yet I find our worship on Ash Wednesday to be the marker for life transitions. Perhaps because the ashes are a reminder of what was and what will one day be again. This life we live is but a moment. Who knelt to receive ashes last year that is no longer present with us this year? If I am being honest, the cloud of witnesses that now gather around God’s throne with each passing Ash Wednesday seem to sing praises to God just a little bit louder each year.
Last week I walked into the narthex before the rest of the staff arrived and I swore I heard music playing. I knew Vicki was on vacation and for just a moment I wondered if the angels had arrived to bring me home. I don’t mind telling you that I carefully and slowly kept walking forward unsure of what I would find. It turns out one of our television monitors had shifted to quiet, background music after a momentary power outage. But still, when I hear beautiful music at an unexpected time, I do wonder if I missed the sign that my time on this earth was winding down.
But until that time, there is work to do. There is: a welcome to offer; someone to love; someone to serve; someone to support; someone who needs your prayers; someone who needs your willingness to listen; and someone who needs, more than anything else, to know they are seen. Does this sound like ministry? I think there are times when we believe the term ministry only applies to Bibles being read and prayers being prayed and people are being fed. All of that is ministry, of course. And yet, there is a simplicity to God’s call on our lives. From Matthew 25:
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Truth be told, it is easier to read what Jesus says than it is to actually practice what Jesus teaches. This the beauty of our faith in God. We often make the practice of our faith much more difficult than God ever intended. Come to the Farmer’s Market – live out your faith. Provide a dish for the next funeral reception – live out your faith. Pray for rain for our sisters and brothers in Tanzania – live out your faith. Remember the overlooked child of God in the margin of this life and imagine their place for even a moment – live out your faith. The season of Lent calls us to all of this and so much more, not out of guilt or obligation but out of joy and a grateful heart for what God has done for us through his journey to the cross, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. It is too early for a “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” But never fear, Easter will be here before we know it.
Dear friends, blessings on the journey before us. You are called. You are loved. And we have work to do to the glory of God!
See you in church.
Pastor Chris
