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ASH
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2004 Fr. John Spencer “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Lent has become unpopular.
It is not even observed in some churches, and in the churches in which
it is observed, there is a softening of the expectations of Lenten
discipline. There is a Swedish
song that says, “It’s Christmas again, it’s Christmas again, and after
Christmas comes Easter.” We want
to jump from the celebration of the birth of Christ to His triumphal entry
into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and from there to the celebration of the
resurrection on Easter Sunday without going through the discipline of Lent or
the agony of Good Friday. Lent is a season of penitence and of self-examination – both of
these are foreign to many of us and distasteful to most. Lent is synonymous with abstinence
and self-denial – we don’t want to abstain from the things we enjoy, the
things which distract us and fill our moments of quiet when we would
otherwise be alone with ourselves and God. We don’t want to deny ourselves gratification – we live in
a society of “enjoy now and pay later” and are reluctant to delay
gratification. To deny ourselves
those things which we enjoy and to which we feel entitled is anathema. On the other hand, Lent is a season in which to add spiritual
disciplines and acts of service, and we don’t want to add to our lives
either. We are already
busy. Our days and nights are
full of activities. We don’t
have enough time for the things we consider necessary and see no way to add
anything to our busy schedules. We don’t want to hear the message of Lent. We don’t want to think about
abstinence, self-denial and extra acts of service. The tradition of the church instructs that we should celebrate
Lent by both self-denial and increased service. We are called to “give up” something for Lent – something which
we enjoy, something which constitutes self-denial. In this way we share in Christ’s self-denial. Jesus did not please Himself; He did
the will of His Father. As we
deny ourselves some of the pleasures of our life for a season, we remember
that our life does not consist in our possessions, our comfort, our full
stomach or our pleasure, but that it comes from our heavenly Father. We are also called to add acts of service or devotion. Among those are a rule of life,
Scripture reading and daily prayers, and church attendance. Don’t “start from scratch”; rather,
pick a discipline that you already have and build on it. Are you reading Morning Prayers
daily? Then add noon-day prayers
or evening prayers. Are you
attending church regularly on Sunday morning? Then add the Wednesday evening service or stay for Sunday
School. The 12th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells
us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. From the context, this cloud of
witnesses includes the saints who have gone before us – Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah and other heroes of the faith, as well as the
saints among whom we live. We
are to lay aside the weight of sin that holds us back, so that we can run the
race. The purpose of all Lenten disciplines is to turn our eyes to
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We know nothing about God the Father, other than that
which we have learned through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only way we can know what is true
and right about God the Father is by looking to Jesus. Write out your Lenten rule.
Remember that the purpose of this is to keep your eyes on Jesus. You are doing this for Christ. Suggestions: o Review the Rule of Life o Pray for the needs and concerns of
our church family daily, or weekly. o Attend an additional church service
every week during Lent. o Give up a meal a day,
or a meal a week. o Abstain from TV, the
newspaper, magazines, or other “entertainment” one day a week.
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