In ancient Israel, the trumpet, the shofar, was sounded to announce a new moon or the election of a new sovereign. It was also sounded to call the people to gather together to worship, to fast and pray, to observe a Holy Sabbath.
On this day, the church blows a spiritual trumpet which calls all the faithful to begin a Holy Lent – a dedicated time of fasting and prayer, of discipline and study.
It is during this time that we hear the story of the adult life of Jesus and begin the pilgrimage to walk in his footsteps, from the banks of the Jordan River to the Garden of Gethsemane; and from the rugged cross on Calvary, to the empty tomb in the Garden near the place of skulls, called Golgotha.
It’s a long journey – forty days and forty nights – a reflection of the time Jesus spent in the desert, as well as the time after the death of Jesus and his ascension into heaven.
And so we are asked to make this same 40 day journey of being tempted as Jesus was but to resist the diversion and put our energies into strengthening the body, mind and spirit so that we, too, might take up our cross and follow Jesus.
That is the traditional understanding of Lent.
I don’t know about
you, but these past eleven months have felt, on one level, like a prolonged
Season of Lent. We have endured a very long fast from so many things that
defined our lives as “normal” – everything from the simple pleasure of going
out to enjoy a meal - at a friend's house or a gathering in our own homes - or at a restaurant or diner - to the expected availability of
paper towels and toilet paper.
We’ve all had to learn how to maneuver through our public lives with masks on,
remember to wash our hands several times a day, and maintain a social distance of 6-10 feet between
us in lines in the super market aisles or at the check-our registers at the
drug store or even during a visit to the doctor’s office.
Perhaps the mot difficult self-sacrifice has been that of relationships. The isolation that has been necessitated by what we have come to know about the transmission of COVID has kept families apart and separated communities of faith. Even if we did hear the blast of the shofar or trumpet, COVID-19 continues to prevent us from gathering together in our beloved houses of worship to pray and praise the glory of God’s name.
There have been almost 28 million cases of COVID. While infection rates are falling and fewer people are hospitalized, we are nearing 500,000 souls lost to this pandemic.
How much more are we expected to sacrifice?
I have a suggestion for making it through the next 40 days and 40 nights. It’s not an original thought. Indeed, I’ve been suggesting this approach to Lent for several years.
What I’d like to suggest is that instead of giving something up that you take something on.
What might you learn in the next month and a half? Might you take up learning to play an instrument or speak another language? Perhaps you'd like to perfect the art of bread making or cake decorating? Is there a project around the house that you’ve been meaning to tackle and all you’ve needed is the time and the dedication?
I’d be willing to bet that you, like me, have several shoe boxes of old photographs or slides – remember those? – that could be sorted and selected and then either taken to a service that will put them on a disc or a ‘stick’ and be stored there and in your computer.
Perhaps you want to be more disciplined about your prayer
life - a new way to pray - or learning more about the Bible, or learn more about the history of the
church or religion.
One Lent, I took dancing in a proper studio with a proper bar and mirror. I thought I was dancing like one of the June Taylor dancers. And then, I looked in the mirror. I did not look like a June Taylor dancer. So, I stopped looking in the mirror and I had a GREAT time,
What is it? What one thing can you challenge yourself to accomplish – that, at the end, will make you feel better about yourself just because you succeeded at a challenge you gave yourself?
Whatever it is, do that.
Do that one thing that will be edifying to your body, mind and spirit. Do that which will take advantage of this time and be of benefit to you or your family or your neighbors.
Do that which lifts your spirit and gladdens your heart.
I know. That sounds almost sacrilegious, doesn’t it? I promise you, it isn’t. I know from personal experience that it delights the heart of Jesus when we rise to a challenge.
Indeed, one question you might ask this Lent is one that was posed to me one Lent, many years ago: Suppose your heart's desire is also God's desire for you. If you knew that to be true, what do you need to do to satisfy your heart's desire which will also delight the heart of God?
Today is Ash Wednesday. Whether you’ve heard it or not, the trumpet has sounded. God’s people are being called to a Holy Lent.
That’s not the question. The question is, how will you respond?
Amen.
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