Lent Context 2024
This is a congregational email sent to Decatur First UMC on February 13, 2024.
Dear Friends,
Our clergy are in Marietta this week serving on the North Georgia Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. It’s a big, important job to shepherd candidates through this process. I hope you’ll join me in praying for Dalton, Laura, and Blair, as well as praying for the candidates for ordination who are being interviewed this week.
Worship last Sunday included the congregation beautifully singing a childhood refrain a capella, as well as Pastor Dalton turning not-knowing into an illuminating sermon! If you missed it you can catch up at this link.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. We will mark the occasion with an Ash Wednesday service in the sanctuary at 6:30pm. I hope to see you there!
I know Lent has a mixed reputation - a holy season AND a real downer. Personally, I love Lent. I come by introspection (that borders on self-criticism) naturally, which can feel lonely sometimes. But then, every year for 40 days the church practices acts of self-examination and repentance together… and Hooray! It’s a party now because everyone is looking at themselves and the world the way I normally do.
At the same time, Lent makes me tired. Since 2020 and the dust and ashes of the pandemic, even I have trouble finding enthusiasm for giving things up for Lent. Remember when we kind of had to give up toilet paper because it was all sold out? Remember when we had to give up hugging everyone outside our household to keep them alive? I’ve lost my enthusiasm for giving up things that bring me joy for the sake of spiritual growth. It may be a deeper spiritual discipline (for me) to practice joy than to practice self-denial.
It’s helpful to remember that Lent is about more than introspection and sacrifice. When we teach the seasons of the church year to our children through Godly Play, the storyteller says something like this -
People can walk right through Christmas and Easter each year and not even know what’s there. We need time to get ready to come close to these mysteries. Here are the times for getting ready. The time for getting ready for Christmas is called Advent. The time for getting ready to come close to the mystery of Easter is called Lent.
I can’t explain Lent any better than that - a time to get ready.
When I pack for a trip, I get ready to be away from home by deciding what I need to take with me, and what I don’t. I give-up things for the sake of a lighter suitcase - so I leave out extra clothes and toiletries I don’t need every day. I also give up things for the sake of a lighter spirit - do I really need to take my work computer? Do I really need to take my planner?
There are also things that I ONLY carry when I’m traveling - eye drops and a neck pillow, for example. Those are things that help me make the most of my travels, so they are worth bringing along.
Deciding what to take on and what to leave out is a discernment process. Lent can do this for us. As we prepare to come close to the mystery of Easter, what should we pick up that will help us come close to the mystery of the resurrection? And what will hinder us that we can leave behind?
If you are in the habit of practicing a Lenten discipline, I encourage you to choose something that leads to awareness of new life. After all, resurrection is where we are headed!
If you’re looking for a Lenten discipline, this booklet is for you. You can use this PDF, or pick up a hard copy from the altar rails in the sanctuary. Inside we’ve compiled the worship texts for each Sunday in Lent along with the traditional questions for Lectio Divina plus a bonus question for this season. We did not include dates so that you have flexibility to make it work for you. You could do one question each day during the week. Or you could set aside some time on Saturday to do the whole practice and reflect on the questions before worship on Sunday. You could even get a group of friends or neighbors together to join you in this practice. Reflecting on scripture in community is beautiful!
However you choose to get ready, I hope and pray that you’ll arrive at Easter with a deeper understanding of God’s love and invitation to new life. May it be so.
Janice
Janice Watts Yates
Director of Adult Discipleship
PS: Ash Wednesday is also Valentine’s Day. We don’t get to choose the liturgical calendar, and probably would not have planned it this way, but the opportunity for quirky valentines is too good to miss! I made some that you can check out here. If you made one, I would love to see it!
