Tag: Lent

Confession

Read Psalm 51:1-12

If you happen to watch many crime and drama shows, you know that the ultimate goal of the police investigators is to get the perpetrators of a crime to confess. Depending on the show, the tactics used to elicit such a confession varies. If a confession is extracted legally, the wheels of justice can then begin to move  forward. Watching such shows, you also know anyone who has committed a crime is usually not eager to confess. People do not wish to take ownership of their wrongs because they fear the punishments which may be forthcoming.

As believers in God, we know the importance of confessing our wrongdoings. The author of Psalm 51 demonstrated the need to confess. Confession is an important step for us as we seek forgiveness and cleansing. The confession in this psalm acknowledges the need for God. Only God is able to wipe clean the negative impact of our sin. God alone is the one who can restore us to our created nature.

As we are currently in the season  of Lent, we experience a stronger focus on the value of confession. Perhaps as a spiritual practice for the next week, you may choose to read the words of these verses every day during your prayer time. Pause to consider what you are saying as you read the words outloud or in your thoughts.

Mortality and Sin

Read Genesis 3:19

Today Christians in all parts of the world attend services for Ash Wednesday. This day marks the start of the Lenten season in the Western Church. On this day we remember our mortality and the cause of death, sin. It is a day of reflection, solemnity, and humility. As part of the worship service, the person has ashes placed on their forehead or hand in the shape of a cross to serve as a visual reminder of our sin and death, but also the rescue found in the cross. When the imposition of the ashes takes place, the worship leader often says, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.”

When you read the verse for today from Genesis, you see the source of the phrase used on this day. This verse is part of the story of humanity’s choice to ignore God as a first step of disobedience  which we refer to as sin. God is explaining to the first humans the consequences of this choice. One of the consequences is death. God indicates we were from the earth and to the earth we will return. Our mortality is the consequence.

While this is an important day to acknowledge our mortality and our sin which has brought it into the human experience, that is not the last word. As I said, today marks the first day of a forty (Sundays are not included in the count.) day journey to the Easter celebration. The Easter celebration reminds us that Christ claimed victory over death and the cause of it, sin. Jesus’s obedience overcame our disobedience. This is why the cross is placed on us as a sign of victory even in the midst of our humble repentance today.

No Facade

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Isaiah 58:1-12 (NIV)

If you have ever had the privilege of being behind the set of a stage play, a television show, or a movie, you know that most times what the audience sees is a facade. The intention is to assist the performers in transporting the audience to a specific setting for the scene. These facades can look very real. Today’s use of digital enhancements in television shows and movies make it seem even more real. Some people create facades in their lives to generate an image of their choosing as perceived by others. Maintaining these facades can require a lot of energy and be very time consuming.

In today’s reading, God expresses displeasure with the facade which they people have created. They have presented an image in which they humble themselves and deny themselves for a brief period of time. This is done in an effort to win God’s favor. Yet their other behaviors during and after the set time are not congruent with the self-sacrificing humility which they are attempting to present. The Lord describes the behaviors which are pleasing, caring for others and fighting for the oppressed. God is not fooled because the people’s true nature is found in their non-religious actions.

Sadly, we can be like the people of Israel to whom God speaks in this passage. We can go through the motions as prescribed by our faith traditions but the rest of our actions do not align. The fake notion that by adhering to a spiritual practice or rite will win us favor in God’s eyes is still prevalent in many faith communities.

God reminds us that our spiritual practices are only beneficial if they point us towards a wholeness in our living. If they remind us of the importance of caring for others and working to improve the lives of others, then they have purpose. By following a spiritual practice we may renew our energy to fight injustice and oppression. The way we treat others can be changed through our spiritual practices. This is what the Lord desires. These practices are for us, not the Lord.

As we approach the season of Lent soon, a time to renew or begin spiritual practices, may we not create a facade to please the Lord or others. Instead, may we allow these to change our lives and our behaviors.

New Life

While winter in Texas is not as cold or stagnant as winter in Iowa, over half of the trees are without leaves, the grass turns brown, and the color of flowers is limited. With the approach of spring, all this changes. Over the last few weeks, we have seen significant change in the landscape. Trees are flowering and budding. The garden centers are stocked with flowers ready to be planted. The sun has increased in its warmth. Rains are helping green to reenter the grass and other plants. New life is arriving daily.

Currently in the Christian Church calendar, we are in the season of Lent. Lent is a time for personal reflection, recommitment to spiritual disciplines, and a time to await new life. The new life which becomes a reality is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday which is a reminder of our mortality and forty days later (Sundays are not counted) we are reminded of the truth of new life we share with Christ.

I am sure that the correlation of the transition from winter to spring and Lent to Easter is not coincidence. Just as spring provides new life for God’s creation, Easter provides new life for God’s children. As a child of God, I anticipate the fulfillment of the resurrection in me as much as I anticipate the witnessing of new life during spring. I yearn for both of them. Every Easter I celebrate the truth of my new life while I watch the promise of new life in creation.

What does spring mean for you? How does Lent and Easter create anticipation for you? Where do you see God’s promises fulfilled around you?

May the promise of new life in Jesus Christ fill you with anticipation and great joy. May the witnessing of new life in creation be a present reminder of this promise for you.