We are now one week into our pre-Easter reflection period
known as Lent. I trust this is a season
of meaning and blessing for you as you reflect on our approach to Holy Week,
2014.
As we consider Jesus’ intention to undertake the journey
from Galilee to Jerusalem,
it is interesting to reflect on what he might have decided to let go of or leave behind. We know he was a thoughtful planner, so it is
unlikely he would have undertaken this trip without deliberate preparation. What did he decide he would
need for the journey ahead, and what could he do without? Matthew tells us he made his home in Capernaum by the sea (Matt 4:13). Did he cancel the lease on his
residence? Did he give away his
household goods?
In our personal spiritual journeys, we look to Christ as our
model. During the Lenten season, we
consider what habits or elements we too should lay down and do without. What if congregations were to do the same? What if our worshiping, fellowshipping
communities also undertook a Lenten season of reflection about how we will be
faithful together in our calling to be about the Mission of Jesus? What should we lay down? What could we do without? How would that help us be more on task?
Please note that I am not talking about cleaning out the
back classroom where 30 years of old lesson books and craft supplies have
accumulated, now all yellow with age. Rather, I am
wondering what “programs” we might do without in order to be more faithful.
What if the program we needed to let go of was (deep breathe) the
Sunday morning service? What if the
congregation met together on Sunday morning, not to sit in a sanctuary but to
walk the neighbourhood, sit in the coffee shop, or meet the neighbours? What if we did that prayerfully asking God to
let us really see and understand what is going on in the area where the church
is planted? What if we prayed and fasted
as we went so we could learn what God’s children who live on our block are going
through? What if we found there were homeless people living behind that apartment building? What if we learned that the
neighbourhood had become multiracial, multicultural, multireligious, how
could we open our doors to that community? What if we learned that our traditional programming was not what the
people we are called to serve even needed, would we be willing to set it
aside?
Just a few questions for reflection on our Lenten journey in 2014.
Posted by Carman
Posts
Thanks Carman...if only we could look at church and its program in new ways. Not easy for many but .you have given us much to think about especially during this season of lent.
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly welcome, Carole. It is probably me that needs to think about it more than anyone else, but I am always hopeful that someone else may also ponder such questions. The hard part is doing something about it!
DeleteMoving on the questions you present here, Carman, is rather scary, but reading them is not enough. The needs of our time are really no different from the needs of Jesus' time. And he set a clear example of what our response could/should be! This lenten season is an ideal time to consider what we can undertake where we are, as we reflect on the mission of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, Dorene, reading is not enough. It is the moving on the answers that is hard.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts. We always appreciate our readers' comments.