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Church Leadership Journal Meditations Wisdom

The Purpose of Lent

Did you ever wonder what is the purpose of Lent? Maybe, like me, you didn’t grow up with a Lenten emphasis. In the country Wesleyan Church of my childhood, I don’t remember the church routine changing until Palm Sunday. But over my years as a pastor I began to appreciate more and more the power of the traditional Christian observance of Lent to strengthen our discipleship and deepen our spiritual journey. Now in retirement years, I am still finding Lent to be very meaningful and for multiple reasons.

Lenten Cross

A reminder to focus on Jesus

Above all, Lent is a time for worship and adoration of Jesus. There are certainly all kinds of helpful topics to explore in church services and personal Bible study, but in order to keep the perspective that we need to address these other issues well, we must first keep the admonition to “fix your thoughts on Jesus” (Heb. 3:1, 12:2). Whatever methods we choose to observe the Lenten season, they will only be a real success for us if they help us to look up to God, to “draw near” to God who has promised in the midst of our seeking to draw near to us (James 4:8)! So the first question in our plans is not “How will I deny myself?” Rather the first measure for evaluating our Lenten observances is, “How do they help me/us to worship Jesus, to obey the Father’s voice, “This is my beloved Son! Listen to him” (Mark 9:7 ESV)!

Confessing our sins is healthy renewal

A Time of Repentance

There is a haunting verse in the Bible that says, “In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin” (Ps 36:2 NIV). That verse makes me uncomfortable and I am afraid it speaks of us much of the time. We quickly condemn sins we see in others while ignoring our own or excusing ourselves. But perhaps my spiritual discomfort is healthy, akin to the kind of discomfort caused by strong exercise. Remember that Jesus admonished us to “First take the plank out of your own eye! (Matt. 7:5 NIV). The good news is that observing Lent gives us space to do the hard work of confronting ourselves where we need it. To move closer to a Holy God is to become more aware of our unholiness and to find in our hearts a Spirit-birthed desire for transformation. To witness again the commitment of Jesus in his journey to the cross for our sakes is to hate our own wavering, and to renew our own commitments to following Him. In our interactions with the world around us, our Christianity loses its edge, it becomes desensitized and dulled by the assault of temptations. But Lent gives us an opportunity to hone our edge again as the Rock of Our Salvation shapes our minds and spirits with his own.

Be prepared

An aid in preparing for the difficult times

Lent provides space to to delve into difficult yet important and relevant topics that we might tend to avoid if it were not for the annual call to wrestle anew with Jesus’ journey to the cross, his betrayal, his time in Gethsemane, etc. For example, recently my pastor’s Lenten message explored how we can react when God seems absent in our struggles, the thought that is voiced in Psalm 22:1 which Jesus quoted from the cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We all like “feel good,” “Blessed Assurance” messages, and we need them frequently, but unless we also mull over and digest the sobering lessons of Lent, we may find ourselves ill-prepared for real life with its trials, disappointments, and injustices. But Lent has a way of reminding us that life is often not ideal and then helping us deal with that brokenness.

self control illustrated

An annual nudge toward greater self-control

I have also always appreciated the Lenten emphasis on self-discipline. I confess that I perennially need more of that. Though traditionally associated with fasting, I find that the scope of Lenten discipline is best broadened so the Holy Spirit can guide us as churches and individuals into the alterations of habits that will be most beneficial for us. Sometimes the goal will be a temporary one enduring just for the season; other times the idea of our Lenten discipline will be to use the season’s impetus to jumpstart us to a new level. I offer ten quick suggestions of various disciplines I have found helpful over the years while celebrating Lent. I include them to spark your own thinking.

  • Read a book that challenges my spiritual growth
  • Volunteer to help in a ministry of the church or do a community service, perhaps visit someone in a nursing home
  • Contribute to a disaster/poverty relief organization
  • Abstain from food for a meal or a few meals and spend that time in prayer
  • Add fifteen to thirty minutes to my daily devotional time
  • Keep track of calories
  • Attend additional church services such as on Good Friday and/or Easter Sunrise
  • Abstain from or limit online time and/or apps
  • Join a small group at church for growth, service, and/or study
  • Set Lenten goals for my exercise regimen

Do not seek God as if He were far off in an ivory castle. He is found in the middle of the events of your everyday life. Look past the obstacles and find Him.

Fenelon, The Seeking Heart, p. 15

Categories
Church Leadership Forward Look Journal

On Celebrating World Communion Sunday

On October 7, we at Community Wesleyan, Kirkville, will join Christians around the world in the celebration of World Communion Sunday.   This year, I did a little research to see what some others were saying about the observance of this special Sunday.   It was a great way to use the spirit of the day to express its meaning.  Here are some of the inspiring thoughts I found expressed by church leaders of other denominations.

It originated when the world was very divided in order to emphasize unity in Christ

 

World Communion Sunday originated in the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 1936, for the first time, the first Sunday in October was celebrated in Presbyterian churches in the United States and overseas. From the beginning, it was planned so that other denominations could make use of it. After a few years, the idea was welcomed by the wider Christian community as an opportunity to move beyond historical and theological differences and worship together. On this first Sunday of October, we celebrate our oneness –our communion – in Christ, in the midst of a world still in need of the reconciling unity of Christ. The Middle English roots of the word “communion” refer to having something in common and to being in a relationship. On this particular Sunday, it is a blessing to be intentionally aware of being “in communion,” that is, sharing Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, whom we have “in common” with other Christians, congregations, and denominations around the world.(quoted from http://resources.mennonitechurch.ca/ResourceView/43/14412)

It reminds us that in order to overcome the divisions of our world we will need to look beyond ourselves and receive from Jesus

World Communion Sunday is an event that bridges denominations and spotlights our commonality in the Body of Christ. This world would be so much better off if we looked for that which we hold in common rather than our differences. Holy Communion, rightly observed, reunites the Church. This is the pastor’s hope when he or she holds up the loaf of bread and says, “Because there is one loaf, we who are many, are one body in Christ.”

Therefore, our focus is in how to get over our differences and find common power to live in Christ. The Eucharist is a time of positive celebration, reunion, prayer for healing, and a sacred time to put others before ourselves

World Communion Sunday was intended as an occasion when persons would be invited to the Lord’s  Table on the same Sunday in many different churches and denominations, regardless of how often those churches and denominations normally observe communion. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) participates in this witness and celebrates the fact that many other denominations are also inviting persons to the Lord’s Table on the first Sunday in October. (from a blog by Rev. Tim McClendon found at  http://www.umcgiving.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=qwL6KkNWLrH&b=7080293&ct=11520565&notoc=1.)

 

We may have different liturgies and customs but we have only one Lord and Savior who unites us

As Disciples, we proclaim the message of unity at Christ’s Table every Sunday of the year, not just on World Communion Sunday. We gather with other Christians every Sunday and declare our oneness in Christ as we take our place at the Table of our Lord. There are many different approaches to the serving and partaking of communion. Different elements are used. Different liturgies exist for communion in different churches. Communion is placed in a variety of positions in different orders of worship. But the message of God’s love for us, made known in Christ, is proclaimed boldly through our worship at the Table. It is this love that we proclaim at the Table that has the power to heal wounds, whether they are the wounds within our own spirits, within our families, within our communities, and between nations. God’s love makes us One. In my view, we are not being truly faithful in our worship unless we are proclaiming that message.

May we find joy in proclaiming that message with passion on World Communion Sunday and on all of the other Sundays of the year. Come to think of it, why be restricted to Sundays? Let us proclaim this good news every day that God gives us breath.

(Taken from Resources for World Communion Sunday: October 7, 2012 Prepared by the Council on Christian Unity, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) accessed at http://www.disciples.org/ccu/PDF/World%20Communion%20Sunday%202012b.pdf)