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From the Pastor
Dear friends in Christ,
On Wednesday, we begin our walk through the 40 days of Lent with the Imposition of Ashes, a journey that will end on Good Friday when we mark the crucifixion of Jesus. The 40 days recalls Jesus' time in the wilderness, where Satan tempted him with power and wealth. As followers of Jesus, Christians often use this time to practice particular disciplines (because we’re disciples) that help us return to God. (Remembering that the roots of repentance are in “return.”)
The classical Lenten disciplines are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and there is probably a direct line between the idea of fasting and abstinence (refraining from eating meat on certain days) and the modern version of giving up sweets, or alcohol, or other pleasures. There isn’t anything wrong with doing that, of course, but depending on your perspective, there may not be a lot of good in it either. Is chocolate really getting in the way of your relationship with God?
Ultimately, the decision about whether to engage in any Lenten practice is up to you, but I invite you to consider returning to the basics. How do the idols of power and wealth continue to tempt us today? Can we renounce them as Jesus did?
Kathy Escobar’s book Turning Over Tables is a daily devotional that looks at the ways Jesus challenged conventional ideas about power and pointed toward God’s Kingdom of justice and wellbeing. Pastor Lawrence Lee and I will lead a book study on the Wednesdays of Lent following Escobar’s weekly themes. Join us at noon starting March 12 for soup and bread and engaging conversation; we will meet at Bayfield Presbyterian during the Wednesdays in March, and at Bethesda Lutheran during the Wednesdays in April. Books will be available at the meetings.
If book study is not for you, feel free to come and talk to me about alternative spiritual practices. I always welcome conversation.
Lenten blessings and deep peace,
Pastor Connie
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