Pastor's Connecting Points

             Here we go again… making our Easter trip.  This week, Shrove Tuesday’s indulging will give way to Ash Wednesday’s introspection.  For forty days, not counting Sundays we will embrace Lent’s journey by taking up our cross and following Jesus.  We make a conscious decision to sacrifice by giving up something familiar and comforting so that we can focus our attention on meeting God.  Some people choose to give away themselves by performing acts of ministry, attending classes or spending quality time alone with God.

            Regardless if we choose giving up or giving away (or both), the larger purpose isn’t the spiritual discipline but rather the spiritual connection.  It’s about being more intentional about meeting God.  Each time we skip that favorite thing or do that new activity it reminds us to focus our attention on God.  Otherwise, why bother?  We are practicing the presence of God so that we can receive His presents.  That present is primarily the gift of relationship.  A relationship that helps us not only come face to face with God but also with ourselves.  It’s like a spiritual mirror that reflects what’s there, not what we pretend or project.  We actually see ourselves as God does and it can be painful or distressing. God reveals not only himself in glimpses but you and me too.  Otherwise, we would be overwhelmed and seek the darkness of deception in our caves of delusion. 

            Jesus invites us to seek out God when He says, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.”  (Matthew 7:7)   It seems that God desires us to seek for Him, not just sit on our hands and wait for Him to show up.  So Lent is our time to run harder in pursuit of God.  To do so, we claim our sinfulness by confessing to God and  to one another.  Sometimes we call this “fessing up.”  We acknowledge not only our dependency upon God but also destructive behaviors that create false selves and pseudo relationships.  This is not only a corporate process but a personal and ongoing process.  As we move closer to God, we find that He is holier than we ever imagined and, in contrasts,  that we are more sinful than we thought.  Our sinfulness blinds us to our sins and so we need a sinless God to help us see and go straight.  In some Holy Communion rituals, the people prepare themselves to receive the sacrament by praying together:  “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.”  May this season of Lent help us know why we pray such a prayer and to get close enough to God’s presence that we experience His healing presents. 

Facing and Fessing Up,

Dean