Welcome to Lent!
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Dear friends & members of St. Matt's,
I know - you're surprised to see an exclamation point after my "welcome to Lent" - but that really does reflect how I feel. Yesterday at our Ash Wednesday services, I talked a little bit about the fact that Lent is often described as this sad, somber season. We think about it as a season of scarcity, a season of less. And certainly our worship tempers a bit throughout the season as we make our way to the cross. Having said that, the descriptions of "less" and "sadness" give short shrift to what this season really is.
If you were here yesterday, you heard me say that I want it to be a season of more. A season when we connect more with family, friends, God and St. Matt's. A season when we engage more in prayer and study. A season when we remove the obstacles and the blinders that keep us from seeing the world and our neighbor clearly. It should be a season when we are more aware of the shortness and fragility of human life, when we are more aware of the pain and suffering of our neighbors, and when we are more conscious of putting their needs ahead of our own. In the text from Hebrew Scriptures yesterday, Isaiah called us not to a fast of food, coffee, video games, or chocolate - but to a fast in which we change our behavior - to loose the bonds of injustice, to let the oppressed go free. This isn't a season to just give up something normal and mundane, its a season to make a difference. To give up the things that isolate us, hurt us, and cause damage to the people around us. To take on new habits, patterns, and routines that move us into the nearer presence of God.
Wondering how you do that? Well, the invitation yesterday to a holy Lent invited you to pray, study scripture, and fast, among other things. And you might consider the good and healthy things that will make it a season of more. How can you connect more with God? With your family and friends? With your neighbors? With St. Matt's? How can you make space to see the beauty of creation, to take in the joy of little moments, to hold on to the people you love? What do you need to push out of the way to see clearly? What do you need to do to make space?
Lent is one of my favorite parts of the church year. It invites us to a spiritual maturity that is important. It cultivates deeper faith. And it encourages meaningful connections. There are certainly many opportunities for you to get involved in the life of this place - you just need to scroll through the newsletter a bit. And whatever spiritual practices you've decided to take on or give up, I pray that you've chosen them intentionally, so that they might lead you into new life.
On Sunday, we'll follow Jesus into the wilderness. I look forward to taking this journey with you.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Tags: Welcome from the Rector