Pastor's Blog: Turning Toward the Light
|
File this column under the “time flies” category, but just make sure in the process that you give notice to how the Easter season is around the corner. I know it seems that we just got the Christmas decorations put away, but the time is drawing near for you to break out the Easter paraphernalia and get ready for this most cherished of Christian holidays. Of course, the best preparations will not be the ones you purchase at your favorite crafts store or discount warehouse. The best ones will be those we make in the privacy of our hearts, as we rid ourselves of those desires that too often turn us toward the darkness.
This Sunday, our text will be on the Transfiguration of Jesus, which portends the Easter hope we find in him. But soon thereafter, this Wednesday in fact, we will begin our time of preparation for Holy Week by participating in our Ash Wednesday service, a service of reflection and repentance that assures us of God’s forgiveness in response to our confession of sin.
I’ve been so pleased with the level of participation at our last two Ash Wednesday services. While Wednesdays don’t normally fit well into most of our members’ schedules, folk seem to make the time for this particular service. Perhaps it’s because by this time of the year we have grown weary of the ways in which we have clogged our souls with selfish pursuits and personal agendas and we need to be reminded that there’s a path out of this smallness of spirit we’ve created for ourselves, a path that takes us to Calvary and the Empty Tomb.
Though the journey of preparation begins in darkness, each day between now and Easter will move us closer to the light. So, mark your calendar to begin such a walk with the rest of us this Wednesday at 6pm in the Sanctuary. Come as you are, and leave a little lighter in your step, having laid a heavy burden down in the confidence that Jesus has already borne it for your salvation and replaced it with a source of hope that nothing can every take away.
“But whoever lives by the truth comes to the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (Jn. 3:21).