Our Lenten Journey

Joel 2:1;16-18

"Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—

 

Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders,
gather the children, those nursing at the breast.
 Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 

Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar.

Then the Lord was jealous for his land and took pity on his people."

 

 We are only one week removed from Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten Journey. In only a week I know that this Lenten Season will be a special season, one in which I hope that I will feel the presence of God in a real and tangible way. That has been my prayer and it has taken me a little over one week to know that God has already answered that prayer. God answered that prayer, perhaps, even before I spoke the words of that prayer. 

After our Ash Wednesday Service at Noel last week our Minister of Congregational Care, Mimi McDowell, and I took ashes out to those who couldn't make it to our service. Like the prophet Joel says, in preparation for repentance, to gather all those into the assembly – from the oldest of the old to the youngest of the young, even those at their mothers breast. 

To look into the eyes of those we met that afternoon and to have a chance to listen, pray and offer God’s forgiveness to them was a humbling moment in my ministry. In those holy moments of reflection and devotion I hear stories about how Noel Church has touched them and about how blessed and humbled they were that we would think of them. These people have left a legacy for us to follow. They have left large shoes for us to fill. They are the people of God who built the firm foundation for us, the church. 

I’m not sure what the rest of this Lenten Season has to offer to me or to us as a church and as the people of God, but I know that I cannot wait to sit back and listen, pray and offer God to those I encounter. May God continue to reveal Godself to you in real and tangible ways this Lenten Season as God has already for me. 

I offer this prayer from Rev. John Winn as a prayer for all of us as we continue on this journey. 

Dear God,

I am full of anxious questions.

I am short on reasonable answers.

I am trapped by my own inability

to make a decision.

I am reluctant to express my feelings.

I am afraid of the consequences.

I want a guarantee that everything

will work to my benefit.

There are times when I hope that

someone will take over for me.

There are times when I know

I must do it myself.

That is when I am fearful that

I am not strong enough.

I am not wise enough.

I am not caring enough.

If it is possible,

let that cup pass from me,

but if not…

Amen.