Season's Greetings

Let us observe a holy Lent…

This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14 and marks the beginning of the season of Lent - a time of penitence, prayer, and preparation for the great Feast of Easter.

On Ash Wednesday, we gather to be marked by the dust from which we came, to repent and be reminded of our condition, and to remember what our holy God can do with dust. From it, he creates our bodies and into it, he breathes his spirit.

During Lent, we make a meager offering of our dust to the Lord and quietly anticipate what he will do with it. May he take your dust this Lent, forming and filling it, reshaping it for his glory, and preparing it for the resurrection.

Pray

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer

Sing

Fast, Pray, Give

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are considered the “three pillars” of Lent. These are taken from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and his three “When you…” statements:

“When you give to the needy…” (Matthew 6:2)

“When you pray…” (Matthew 6:5)

“When you fast…” (Matthew 6:16)

These three disciplines are considered symbols of restored relationship…

…with God (prayer) – we can freely enter God’s presence and seek to be in ceaseless communication with him

…with man (almsgiving) – we are free to put the needs of others ahead our ourselves

…and with self (fasting) – we are not mastered by our appetites and desires

Lent is not about giving up as much as it is about making space for God to fill you up. These disciplines need not be overly complicated nor should they be miserable. You can fast by:

- Abstaining totally from something (no alcohol, no meat, no IG)

- Reducing the amount of something (time spent on social media, quantity of food consumed, etc.)

- Swapping one thing for a more edifying thing (instead of binging true crime podcasts, perhaps listen to an excellent Bible study / sermon podcast during Lent)

Often, prayer and almsgiving naturally flow from fasting (i.e. - spend your newfound free time in prayer or your newly saved money in giving additionally to your church or another ministry.)

And don't forget: Sundays are always a feast day. No fasting allowed! (Lest you think this is cheating, the 40 days of Lent exclude Sundays in the counting!)