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What a difference a year makes…
This time last year anticipation was at a fevered pitch, as the Philadelphia Eagles were in their final days of preparation for the Super Bowl. The energy and excitement were palpable as the team was on the cusp of a second championship in 5 years. Though the game didn’t end as we hoped, many were encouraged, sensing the Eagles would return and emerge with a victory. We laugh – or maybe cry – at that thought now, after witnessing the complete collapse that ended this season. Our best hope now is that Jason Kelce will do something to make us smile.
While it’s very important to remember that football isn’t the end-all, be-all in our lives, I also think there are important lessons we can take away from how the Eagles’ season played out. After all, life often has a way of taking us in unexpected directions. One moment, all appears fine and well; the next, it can seem as if our life is in a spiral. Sometimes the difficulties we experience are due to “big” things – an injury, illness, or unfortunate event. Often, though, it’s the little things that get us off track. Barely perceptible in the moment, something happens that shifts our trajectory and before we know it, we’re struggling. As struggle sets in, it’s usually difficult to stop. I sense that honest reflection will reveal how distance from God tends to accompany the seasons of struggle in our lives.
This coming Wednesday (February 14) is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent offers a powerful opportunity to pause and reflect; to examine our lives and see where we are aligned well with God’s ways and see if there are areas where changes are needed. Lent is a chance to see if anything in our walk with God is off track, and to turn from the things that take us from God such that we turn toward God’s goodness. Lent requires honest, transparent reflection (something I sense we didn’t always receive from the Eagles this year!)… and engaging in deep, honest reflection can be challenging. Yet the effort we invest in honest reflection will draw us near to God, guiding us forward in the path that God desires for us individually and collectively.
I hope you will pause to join us at one of our Ash Wednesday services (services will be offered at 12 noon and 7pm) as we begin the Lenten season. Then join us throughout the Lenten season for Sunday worship. Each week our sermons will invite us to engage in conversations with Jesus by considering the questions he asks in scripture. Based on the book Let Me Ask You A Question: Conversations With Jesus by Matt Croasmun, we’ll seek to honestly respond to the questions Jesus asks us. I believe this will be a powerful series, and I encourage you to invite others who may have struggled with faith or religion in the past. A Lenten Bible study will also be offered, where we’ll continue to reflect on the questions we explore in worship (more information is below).
This Sunday in worship, we’ll be blessed to celebrate 2 baptisms at our 10:30 worship service. In the message we’ll explore a powerful mountaintop experience when Christ’s full glory is revealed to a handful of his disciples…. who don’t quite know what to make of this amazing moment. We’ll reflect on what that meant for those disciples, as well as what that means for us today. I hope you’ll read Mark 9:2-9, and then join me in worship on Sunday-
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Brad
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