Pastoral Thought--February 17

Today is Ash Wednesday; the beginning of Lent. Christians from around the globe will pause in their day and they will remember their sins. For some, ashes will be administered to the forehead as a mark of our ‘baptism into death.’ Others will witness this action and it will be meaningful for them also. 

Although we are aware of how the story ends on Easter morning, tonight we are contrite, humble, and introspective. We do not rush too quickly toward the miracle of the Empty Tomb, tonight. We abide in this moment. It might feel like we are walking through a dark, thick, wilderness that has no obvious escape—but that is not true. God is with us as we begin this season. That knowledge, and that presence, changes us as we journey.

N.T. Wright in an article entitled, The Way and the Wilderness, reminds us to that part of our Christian walk occurs in the wilderness. He writes: 

"You are never far from the wilderness when you’re in the Promised Land. Just a few miles to the south, or south-east, or to the north-east across the Jordan, and you’re out in the desert. . . When you’re in Jerusalem, the wilderness is just over the next hill. . . . Christian writers of all sorts, throughout the centuries, have insisted that at some stage, perhaps at several stages, we shall be called to travel through the wilderness [with God]: 

In order to arrive at what you do not know

You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess

You must go by the way of dispossession.

In order to arrive at what you are not

You must go through the way in which you are not."

The wilderness comes in many shapes and sizes—some predictable and some personal. Some of these manifestation are easy to recognize and some are veiled from our hearts because we are not ready for them. But each step and moment in the wilderness invite us to walk with God and learn from God. In those lessons we leave aside what we value, or what we elevate, and we allow the Savior space to teach us the mysteries that we cannot understand—or mysteries that we are not yet able to understand. They can be mysteries that are too complex and yet grounded in God’s love.

All of this comes together on Ash Wednesday. 

I hope today that you will find some space to dwell closely with God and learn from God. I wonder what lessons God will teach you as you walk through the wilderness of Lent? 

Blessings

Rev. Derek