For as much information as we have at our fingertips about the world around us, the life of faith remains filled with mystery. Whenever we go looking for a definitive answer (is it black or white? yes or no? up or down?), we might be surprised to learn that the answer could be neither, both, or something else altogether. Perhaps all this mystery might be serving another purpose?
Today is Ash Wednesday, the very start of our annual journey through the season of Lent. You might be familiar with the common Lenten discipline to fast from something during this time. You may even have tried giving something up as a practice in the past. No chocolate or sweets, abstaining from alcohol, or cutting out some other typical regular indulgence may all serve to focus your energies in an alternative way.
There is a complimentary approach you might consider this year by adding a new practice into your life. Making a 40-day commitment to exercise daily, making a point to call a different friend or family member each day, or starting a daily gratitude journal are all examples of something positive to add to your daily routine. There are so many possibilities but setting an intention and committing to its daily practice over the course of the coming 6 weeks holds the promise to make an impact.
These Lenten disciplines are intended to engage our minds and bodies in an exercise that takes us somewhere much deeper. To assist us as a collective, we’ll be taking on the communal practice of exercising our curiosity. Through our Sunday morning worship, our mid-week evening worship, a community-wide book study, regular fellowship, and other opportunities, we’ll be taking on the task of wondering about all these mysteries that remain within the life of faith.
Together, each week we’ll be wondering about one of the following:
…who is the greatest?
…why forgiveness matters?
…if fairness exists?
…who is invited?
…in what to invest?
…when I saw Jesus?
During these weeks of Lent, let’s wonder together just what God might be doing and where God might be leading us.
May God’s hope embrace you today. -Pastor Peter
Let us pray…
Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.