Greetings from hustle and bustle of Downtown Memphis!
In case you are not aware, we are now in the midst of the season of Lent. Lent is a time in the Christian calendar spanning 46 days. It began with a stark reminder of our mortality with our Ash Wednesday service and ends with the glorious exclamation mark of Easter celebrating the victory of life over death through the resurrection of Jesus. In many ways, the journey of Lent is a tradition passed down to us as a kind of liturgical summary of the essential journey of every follower of Jesus. Below are a few things we are reminded of throughout lent:
We are all broken people. Lent begins with a special service on Ash Wednesday to remind us that when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve so did death and brokenness. Since sin is by definition life oriented away from the author of life and creator of all things, it inevitably leads to brokenness and death. This is exactly why Lent is not always the most fun time on the Christian calendar to focus on. In many ways, we all try and distract ourselves from the realities of our own pain, loneliness, and brokenness. We try so hard that sometimes we are even successful in convincing ourselves everything is fine until life reminds us again that we are all so fragile.
God meets us in our Brokenness! In Lent we are also reminded that we are not alone in our brokenness. As I’ve reminded us many times, the number of days from the beginning of Lent to Easter is forty six. Yet Lent is only forty days long. Each Sunday during Lent interrupts our focus on our sin and brokenness and is set aside in a special way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the victory He offers us over sin and brokenness. We are reminded that God comes to each of us in the midst of our brokenness with a promise of grace and life. It is as if God is telling us to keep our heads up and looking forward because even though today may be overwhelming Easter is coming!
Jesus joined our Suffering! The closer we get to Easter Sunday, the more you will notice a focus on the final days of the life and ministry of Jesus. As you look closely at these days, you will notice the journey Jesus took to the cross was very much intentional and in fact was a necessary precursor to the resurrection. When we face loneliness we can know Jesus has been there, too. When we suffer, we know Jesus has suffered, too. When we grieve, when we hurt, when we hunger, Jesus knows how we feel. One of the deepest questions we all face throughout our lives is “Why?”. Why is there pain, suffering, and loneliness. While there are certainly good theological responses, we have a savior who chose to experience the pain, suffering, and even the burden of our sin instead of merely giving us an easy answer. The author of life chose to take upon the full weight and consequence of our sin so relationship with the Father would be possible.
He is Risen! While it is essential we take a deep look at our brokenness and sin, we are reminded throughout Lent that we face our brokenness with the full knowledge God’s grace is far greater than any consequence of sin and brokenness. In fact the message of Easter is that God doesn’t merely patch back together our brokenness and cover up our sin, instead He breathes new life and re-creates all who believe in Him. We are reminded through Easter that not even the darkest of sins or death itself can defeat us because Jesus already has ascended to His throne and has won the victory we couldn’t win ourselves.
Let yourself embrace all of this Journey through Lent so you may fully experience the joy and celebration of Easter Sunday!