Today would have been my dear brother’s birthday. He died over 20 years ago but he will always be my angel in heaven. When he walked this earth he was a good soul and with the promise of redemption he is now with the Lord. Therefore, when I gaze (or reflect) upon his image, it helps me remember the power and glory of God. Lord, thank you for those angels who have come before us to guide us in our way. – Angela
A theme that jumps out to me among these three readings is God’s mercy. God, while desiring our best, is just and forgiving. While we are given countless guidelines for living faithfully, they are hopes for us, not hoops to jump through. Lent can be a time to try and be better, but we always rely on God’s mercy and forgiveness.
I’ve had a hard time starting out my own Lenten discipline. The temptation is strong to berate myself and give up. But the real discipline is to remember God’s mercy. John’s letter makes it clear that we are to strive not to sin, but knowing that we will, he reminds us of Jesus’ role as advocate for us and the whole world. David chooses a punishment meted out by God rather than humans because he is sure of God’s mercy. God is way more forgiving than we are. And others are often more forgiving of us that we are of ourselves.
The following post is from a blog which I don’t follow, but happened upon. I just clicked on a link in a facebook group. But I offer it to you as a framework for how we might approach Lent. I read it for those who were present in worship on Ash Wednesday. I had a request for copies to share, so here’s the original post: http://www.barbmorris.com/a-letter-from-god-to-her-daughters-who-observe-lent/
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. – Psalm 51:10
This year during Lent you will find here a reflection for each of the 40 days. They may be one’s thoughts, a story, a picture, a song, a link to something that someone found useful. It can be as creative as one likes or a simple reflection on a bible verse. And my hope is that many different people will contribute to this collective project.
Today’s reflection is an invitation to contribute to this project. Many of us were raised to give up something during Lent – sweets, caffeine, meat, swearing and technology of some sort have probably been at the top of the list. Lent has been described as a time of sacrifice to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. In recent years there has been some reframing of Lent to make it a time of developing some sort of spiritual practice – maybe pray a little more, practice some meditation, give some extra money to a worthy cause, read the bible more. These too are worthy efforts.
This year I may use Lent as an excuse to work on some new behavior (haven’t quite decided yet), but I have decided to use it as a time to remember. I will do things to remember the new and right spirit that God gives us. It’s a spirit of “I get to” and not just “I have to.” My remembrance will be grounded in my identity as God’s beloved one – something too easily forgotten. I will practice daily, hourly, remembering who I am and whose I am. And you get to join me!
In remembrance, Pastor Gaeta
p.s. There will be a worship service with imposition of ashes and holy communion tonight at 7:30pm
This Lent, you are invited to steward any gifts you have for sharing reflections on scripture readings. Many of you have the gift of writing, visual art, performing art or curating the work of others in just the right way. If you wish to be part of our daily reflections here, please sign up by clicking here. On the sign up page you will find a link to the list of daily readings for the whole church year in case you want to choose a date based on the reading for the day. Once you sign up you will receive further instructions on how to submit your contribution.