Ash Wednesday and Lent reflections

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you

In thought, word, and deed,

By what we have done,

And by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart;

We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,

Have mercy on us and forgive us;

That we may delight in your will,

And walk in your ways,

To the glory of your Name.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen. 

(BCP)

Whatever thing I have denied my selfish desires, Christ denied more to condescend in human likeness and perfect humility.

Whatever temptation I have had to overcome, Christ overcame more on my behalf that he might present a perfect substitute for me before God.

Whatever pain I have endured—whether physical or emotional—in denying the longings of my body and mind, Christ endured more under the just wrath of God on the cross in my place.

Whatever loneliness I feel (imagine: the pathetic loneliness of one who is a temple of the Holy Spirit and a child of God), Christ felt more when the Father turned his back on him because of my sin.

Christ has made a way. He has given me his Spirit. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

So grow up. Be a man. After all, "you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin" (Heb. 12:4).                                         

via

The season of Lent has begun to mean a lot more to me in the past several years. I grew up in a tradition that practiced it, but never really taught me about what it was really for. I just knew that you were supposed to give something up for 40 days before Easter. But now I realize the real significance behind dying to myself in this way. In denying myself certain things, in fasting, in dwelling on the awareness of my own sin, I prepare my heart for the new life of the Resurrection that I live through again at Easter. Lent, as well as the other seasons of the liturgical year, is Christians around the world living through the story of salvation once again. Not that we don't live out our salvation every day. But this is the time for us to set aside especially to focus on the salvation story in our lives and the Lord's work in this world for redemption. Lent is a time for acknowledging our own weaknesses and sins, in light of the knowledge of a God Who is far too holy to allow sin in His presence. It is a time of repentance, for us to turn away from our own desires and from the world's temptations in order to turn back to God. 

This year for Lent I'm giving up Facebook once again. Though not something bad in itself, I spend way too much time on it on any given day, time that could be much better spend in the Word and in prayer. So I would encourage you to take some action as well. Give up something. It doesn't have to be like trying to kick a bad habit, but our fasting from these things is a reminder that it is not our desires that matter--it is about what God is calling us to, which is His new life.