Reflections for Lent

Hebrews 1:8-12 NRSV

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.”

Lent is a period of 40 days, not counting Sundays from Ash Wednesday until Easter, that remembers Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and His ministerial preparations with prayer and fasting. In this time of self-denial, we are to deny ourselves certain indulgences and think of God when we have a craving for that item(s). While it is popular to share what we have given up for Lent, there is a deeper internal understanding gained if we just keep the items denied to ourselves. 

This time of self-denial is initiated on Ash Wednesday when, in worship, we remember we are “dust, and to dust we shall return.” Or, as Paul states in the Hebrews verses for today, we will be aged like a worn garment or rolled up like a mantle. Our earthly existence is temporary, and our days are rapidly marching on… fleeting even. But God is eternal and forever. When He spoke to Moses in the bush that burned but was not consumed, God self-identified as “I am.” (Exodus 3:1-6). God has been and will be always. 

In our time of self-denial and introspection of our temporality, let us focus on the One who is forever and who gave Jesus to us both for our salvation and forgiveness as well as for granting us access to God and all things eternal. Yes, our steps and breaths on the planet are finite, but our reign with God is eternal. All praise to our God. 

~ Reverend John Newell~