Lent Begins Today

 

Lent begins today. Today is a day of ashes, of reflection, of Holy Communion. Ash Wednesday. Lent begins today.

This will be an odd season of Lent for me. I’m only going to be at my church for the first three Sundays of Lent, and then I am off for my Sabbatical. In 30 years I have never missed Easter Sunday at Worship as the pastor of the church. This year I will be visiting my daughter in North Carolina and sitting in a pew celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

I’ve never quite figured Lent out. We give things up, but that never seems to really be impactful. It’s a great idea, especially if it’s something we really ought to give up, but I wonder if it’s really the point of Lent.

A friend of mine wrote on Facebook to not give up butter; if we give up butter we give up the churning. I like that image. It is a season of churning. Things within us are turned upside down and we church with new and interesting things and we churn in new and fascinating ways. I do appreciate the imagery of that.

Funny thing about today, however, is that our church is abuzz with activity. We are having our second night, ever, of Logos, and in the next few minutes a bunch of kids will be here and having fun. We will pray, play, eat, sing, and Worship together. There will be a lot of laughing and joking and fun for everyone. It seems so very unlike Lent----but on the other hand, maybe it really is what Lent is all about. People of faith coming together, being together, growing together, and nurturing one another.