Have you ever felt like you were out between things, where you didn’t have a direction for your life, where you didn’t feel certain anymore about what you believed, or where God was anymore? Have you ever felt like, instead of being on a straight highway to heaven, you were more like wandering in a wilderness?
This has probably been the experience for most of us at some point in our lives. Faith is often described as either a clean break – i.e. I went from a non-believing sinner (let me tell you how many sins I did) to a Christian – or as a line up to heaven? But isn’t it the case that our faith journeys more often resemble paths of ups and downs, loops of going back and forth to the same things over and over, long periods of not going anywhere?
When Jesus started his ministry, the first thing the Holy Spirit did was to lead him out into the wilderness for 40 days. His wilderness looks a lot more like Nevada than the redwoods – lots of heat, emptiness, few things to eat. It says Jesus didn’t. Then he was tempted by a figure called “the satan” – which in Hebrew just means “the tester”. And why? He could have died. He could have run. He could have gone crazy. He could have given in to temptation and become a megalomaniac – ruling over the world like a dictator. Why would God the Father take a chance like that, that Jesus would fail? Why take off the safety rails, and risk him not fulfilling his destiny?
Could it be that Jesus needed to spend some time in the wilderness, on his own, with the risk and the temptation, the struggles and deprivation, to fully understand his mission, and embrace his calling? Could there be something here for us?
This Lent we’re going to follow the theme of “Wilderness”. It won’t be all about hiking in trees, but about walking in faith through places and times when faith is not as obvious or easy. It’s faith without safety rails. We’ll start with Jesus’ 40 days, and take time to reflect on finding God’s presence when that presence doesn’t feel so obvious. We’ll use ideas from a web site called sanctified art, the people who made the program for the Advent services. There’s art, poetry, meditation – all different ways to explore God (or the lack of God) for the 40 days before Easter.
First, there’ the Intergenerational Craft and Fellowship Sunday, February 19th at 11:30am, where we’ll have some lunch, do some short meditations, and work together to build a wilderness-themed altar-table for Lent. All ages. No experience necessary.
Then we have Ash Wednesday service February 22 at 6:30pm. Come for the imposition of ashes and the beginning of Lent.
Come worship and pray each Wednesday (March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29) at 6:30pm with mid-week Lent services. We’ll do a special liturgy with prayer, poetry, art, discussion, and meditation on images from scripture. After, we’ll gather for fellowship and refreshments in the narthex, so we can catch up with each other as well as with God.
Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday on April 2nd, procession and all.
Maundy Thursday will be different this year. Instead of a traditional worship with communion, we’ll do an agape meal, much like the early Christian churches did when they met for food and fellowship each week – where communion was a full meal. April 6, 6:30pm in the fellowship hall. It’s a full meal with dates and meats, much like in ancient Israel. You’ll have to sign up before, so the cooks can prepare enough for everyone.
Good Friday is April 7th, 6:30pm with our stations of the cross liturgy.
And, of course, Easter on April 9th.
I hope you’ll take advantage of Lent as a time to explore and grow your faith, try some new faith practices, and reconnect with God. It’s not 40 days of punishment, but 40 days to be honest with ourselves, and God, and grow in faith and prayer.
Pastor Lars