{"id":24452,"date":"2020-02-26T12:22:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T17:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=24452"},"modified":"2020-02-26T12:41:59","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T17:41:59","slug":"worship-wednesday-ash-wednesday-the-40-day-lenten-road-to-easter-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=24452","title":{"rendered":"Worship Wednesday – Ash Wednesday – the 40-Day Lenten Road to Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>Photo Credit: Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n

[Adapted from the Archives<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\u201cHow often have I lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting, and prayer? How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without even being aware of it? But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice fully in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death? Yes, Lord, I have to die\u2014with you, through you, and in you\u2014and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your Resurrection. There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess\u2026. I see clearly now how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it. O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Henri Nouwen<\/a>\u00a0 (From A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee<\/em>, Orbis)<\/a><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until I was six years old that church even came on my radar as a thing. My mom\u00a0worked all the time in those days, and finally, after a last-resort divorce, she settled us into a different life of meager means and lavish love. It was in those days that we responded to\u00a0an invitation to church from neighbors. A weary single mom and four eager children met the welcome care of a loving church. Our experience was small town Bible-Belt Baptist, and that\u00a0set the foundation for\u00a0my\u00a0understanding of\u00a0God, and I am grateful.<\/p>\n

My understanding of religion then was that it was Christianity only.<\/p>\n

Years later, when I signed up for a World Religions course as a college freshman, I actually thought it would be a survey course on… Christianity.<\/p>\n

[Even within the context of Christianity, I knew very little of its practice outside the realm of Southern evangelicalism. Now being older, I understand the difference in religion and faith. – that there are many religions. However, who the Person of God, and who we are as followers, is more about relationship than religion.]<\/p>\n

My first experience with Lent\u00a0<\/a>was through a college friendship. One Wednesday long ago, I caught up with my best friend after she had disappeared from our usual daily routine. We met for lunch and she had this mysterious, ashen cross smudged on her forehead. I resisted the urge of just lovingly wiping it off for her, thinking she was unaware of it. Pointing it out instead, she taught me my first lessons about Lent \u2013 lessons on repentance, fasting (sacrifice), the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ. All of that was gloriously real for me already, except for setting aside 40 days of resolve prior to the celebration of Easter.\"BlogPhoto Credit: Jennifer Balaska via en.wikipedia.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust \u2013 Preparing for Ash Wednesday<\/em> \u2013 Pastor Kirk Thorson<\/a><\/p>\n

For years, I still didn\u2019t take\u00a0Lent very\u00a0seriously and still don\u2019t know quite how to incorporate it into my life\u2026except that my thinking has changed. In this world gone mad, I am more convinced than ever that we as the Church need to stand together for the sake of the nations and for the glory of God. If in Lent, I can find elements that help me see God, and our corporate and personal need for Him, more clearly, then I want to integrate some measure of Lenten\u00a0practice into my life.<\/p>\n

Month-long fasting (one part of Lent) has never been a draw for me, as I was always completely sure it would be a fail. While we lived in North Africa, and especially in Egypt, fasting was very much a part of our Muslim and Christian neighbors\u2019 lives. Even those Christians who were evangelical (from Coptic backgrounds) saw the importance of fasting. Their awareness of the evil of sin in the world and the need for drastic measures lined up solidly with Jesus\u2019 own life and teaching on this.<\/p>\n

As I write this, my penitent friend with the ash smeared on her forehead comes to mind again. Decades later, on this day, I\u2019m sure, wherever she is, she has a new ashen cross applied. Reminding her of the sin in her own life that Christ paid for Himself with His death on the Cross.<\/p>\n

[We like our foreheads clean, don\u2019t we? Being reminded of the dark and dirty smudge of sin in our lives is not something we want to carry around with us publicly. Especially in this post-Christian world of ours. Even with the message of the Cross as the only response to that sin\u2026it\u2019s just too public, too culturally \u201cin your face\u201d so to speak.]<\/p>\n

Many may see Lent as extra-Biblical and therefore unnecessary to add to our countdown to commemorating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For me, at least, it gives a bit narrower road to walk for forty days \u2013 examining our own frailty, our sin, and the brevity of life alongside the magnificent perfection of the life and love of a wholly surrendered Christ.<\/p>\n

Bible Gateway<\/a> extends a free invitation to receive devotionals daily through Lent – A 40 Day Journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/em><\/a>. I\u2019ll be going through that as part of my reading these 40 days until Easter.<\/p>\n

Also for the past several years, during Lent, I have read British writer Adrian Plass<\/a>\u2019 book The Unlocking \u2013 God\u2019s Escape Plan for Frightened People<\/em><\/a>. It was a gift from a good friend during our years living overseas. There\u2019s a lot in this world that\u2019s frightening these days. Yet God is still God and is at work in the midst of so much crazy.\u00a0I believe Him at His word. Full stop. We have a\u00a0role in dealing with what we see in the world. As Jesus told\u00a0His disciples (Matthew\u00a017:21<\/a>), there is evil that we can only battle with prayer and fasting. This is a power unleashed in\u00a0a true observance of Lent.\"Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

As we grieve so much death around us in these days, and as we look to Easter, I would like to close with a prayer from Adrian Plass\u2019 book:<\/p>\n

\u201cLoving heavenly Father, I want to try to tackle this business of loving enemies. First of all I\u2019m going to sit quietly here and go through a mental list of the folk who I would call my enemies. Help me to be really honest\u2026I don\u2019t want to leave anyone out\u2026.I\u2019ve done it, Lord. There are rather a lot, and some of them I really hate. But You made it quite clear that You can\u2019t forgive me if I don\u2019t forgive them, so I\u2019ll start the process, even if it takes a long time to mean it. Love them for me, Lord, and please accept my prayers for their welfare and safety. Soften my hard heart as the days go by, until I begin to see them through Your eyes. Thank You for forgiving me. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For these forty-plus days before Easter, my resolve<\/strong> is to:<\/p>\n