It feels as if we are constantly playing catch-up with the season of Lent. The calendar did not help this year. In only seven weeks we went from the celebrations of Christmas to reminder of our mortality on Ash Wednesday. Some years we have as many as 10 weeks to make the transition. As I have entered into conversations with members of the church, I am struck by the fact that I am not the only one who feels rushed this year into the season of Lent.
On the first Sunday in Lent, I invited people at worship to write down the name of someone in their life who is in need of prayer…for whatever reason. My accepted “extra” in Lent has been to pray over these names each week. It is a daunting pile on my desk. Prayer cards stacked some two and three inches high with the first names of people who are loved, considered, remembered by many of you in your own daily prayers. It is humbling to be entrusted with those names. There are names that give me pause because I know the story behind the name. On some cards, people feel the need to offer explanation, which can be helpful but not necessary. And there are always a few cards with not just one name but three and four names. Just so you know – I stop and pray for each name – not just the first one at the top. What grounds me in the season of Lent, as we wander in the wilderness for a time, is the opportunity to settle into my prayers. Each prayer card offers me a little extra moment of time to speak the name and ask God to tend this loved one in some way. There is a meme running around the internet that says:
It is a solid reminder for my own prayer life. Of course, right after I saw that reminder meme, I saw this one:
And that brought me right back to why sometimes my life is messier than it should be. It is no surprise. My faith life ebbs and flows like everything else that clamors for time in my life. Depending on which guilt lever gets pulled can often determine the next task to tackle. Reading with my youngest child – yes, important. Checking in on my dad, my sister – yes, important. Date night with my wife – yes, SO IMPORTANT (if she is reading this)! Reconnecting with an old friend – yes, important. Visiting someone who is sick or feeling lonely – yes, important. Getting this newsletter article done – yes, important. All the things that beg for attention are almost always important enough to be listed. It amuses me that right after I typed the list above I realized that I left off “tending my relationship with God.” How did I miss that in the season of Lent? It happens.
The gift of this season of Lent is that we have the opportunity for just a little extra opportunity to tend our relationship with our God. Sunday worship, The Chosen Video series, midweek soup supper and worship, and Holy Week events to name a few “extra” opportunities. The Soup Suppers are always a gift to be in relationship with other members of the body of Christ in simple ways around a simple meal and a new recipe. You still have three more opportunities to join us on Wednesday nights. Before we know it, Holy Week will be upon us.
See you in church,
Pastor Chris
