Reflection for Family E-news

Lent is here! Watch this short video for a refresher on why this is such an important season in the church.

Peace,
Lauren+

Love Life Day 1

Where can you know abundant life? Where can you still grow?

I experience abundant life through hugs. The embrace of friends, old and new, allows me to physically experience God’s love.

I can grow by embracing the “other” more. I am comfortable with my friends and family, but I need to extend my comfort zone so that I can share hugs with more people.

Ash Wednesday Sermon

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Psalm 103:8-14, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

At first glance, today’s gospel reading feels a bit odd. Why are we being told to be wearing of practicing our piety in front of others on the day that we get ashes placed on our forehead? Why is the idea of practicing our faith in secret mentioned so many times on a day where we show our faith outside of these church walls?  Why?

It’s because Jesus is not telling those who first heard these words, or us, that we should not practice piety. He is not telling us to stop praying or fasting or giving alms. Instead Jesus is reminding us to be careful to make sure we are doing these acts for the right reasons. 

We should not give alms so that others think highly of us, but we should give alms for the work of the church or to those in need. We should not pray just so others can see us pray, but we should pray because that is how we can converse with God. We should not fast so that others tell us how great or strong we are, but we should fast from the things that lead us to rely or focus solely on ourselves rather than God. 

Jesus understood what it meant to be human, what it meant to be like us. He lived in the world even though He was not of the world. I say this to remind each of us that Jesus knew and loved people just like us. People who felt busy all of the time. People who loved God. People who sinned. People who tried their best but sometimes struggled. And because Jesus was in the world, God knows what it is like to be human. God knows what our struggles are and what our gifts are. God knows our outward motivations and our inner thoughts.

            Today marks the beginning of the church season of Lent. In this season we are invited to live an intentional life. We are invited to reflect on our need for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Notice I said need not want or desire. We need prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that we can more clearly see who God is and who God wants us to be. And as our scriptures remind us, we need to reflect on our motivations for our actions.

So how will you be living an intentional life this Lent? Will you be giving something up or trying to do something new?