Lenten Moments
I had a very fine nap after this first Sunday of Lent with its long opening procession with the chanted Great Litany. And, we moved to Daylight Saving Time during the night, so in addition to getting up very early to finish the sermon, I lost another hour.
It is the practice at Grace to also switch to Rite I during Lent. I am not thrilled with that as my tongue gets tripped up in the "thees," "thous," "eths," and "ests." Nevertheless, it was a fine liturgy with the annual theme of "temptation."
It was also the first Sunday in a long while (or a least it seems so) that there was not snow overnight along with the anxiety of driving, parking, and even walking! What a relief! I did have to slide to the car as my low area near the house was frozen over early this morning. Of course, it was melted when I got home from church, so I had to wade back in!
Grace also produces a devotional booklet each Lent. People volunteer to write for a day, focusing on the lectionary scripture. Clergy take the Sundays, so my first contribution was for today. I wrote on the reading from the Hebrew Scripture: the story of Adam and Eve's temptation in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 and 3. (I preached on this, too.)
Here are my thoughts from the Lenten booklet:
It was my first remembered defiance. I was about 4 years old, and my mother reluctantly agreed to let me have a kitten from my aunt's cat's litter. We lived in a house with a wide open porch. It had brick sides that were quite high from the ground. When we came home with the kitten, I dangled it over the side of the porch. My mother said, "Do not drop the cat over the side." Kitten continued to be dangled. "If you drop the cat over the side, we will take it right back to your auntie."
I imagine my face, staring back at mom, maybe daring her. I let go of the cat, and down it went to the yard below. Consequences came quickly. Mom retrieved the kitten, took me by the hand and climbed into the car for the 10 mile trip back to my aunt's house. That was that. Except for a couple strays that stayed with us briefly, there were no more cats in my life until I had my own home.
I think of Adam and Eve in a similar way. They were like children, living an idyllic life, all of their needs met before they even knew they needed something. And then, one day, they defied God. Their eyes were opened--not just to their nakedness but to guilt. That's why they hid. They grew up that day. They continued to have their God-given life, but now they were responsible and had to work for what they had--with all of the joys and sorrows that now came with their status as adults capable of making their own decisions--the good ones and the mistakes. And thus began the human story--created in God's image and declared "good." Beloved of God despite their wrong turns and their being, well, human.
Prayer: Creator and creating God, keep us mindful of the incredible gift of being made in your image, and stir in us the desire to use that gift as best we can, contributing to your dream for our world. Amen.
It is the practice at Grace to also switch to Rite I during Lent. I am not thrilled with that as my tongue gets tripped up in the "thees," "thous," "eths," and "ests." Nevertheless, it was a fine liturgy with the annual theme of "temptation."
It was also the first Sunday in a long while (or a least it seems so) that there was not snow overnight along with the anxiety of driving, parking, and even walking! What a relief! I did have to slide to the car as my low area near the house was frozen over early this morning. Of course, it was melted when I got home from church, so I had to wade back in!
Grace also produces a devotional booklet each Lent. People volunteer to write for a day, focusing on the lectionary scripture. Clergy take the Sundays, so my first contribution was for today. I wrote on the reading from the Hebrew Scripture: the story of Adam and Eve's temptation in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 and 3. (I preached on this, too.)
Here are my thoughts from the Lenten booklet:
It was my first remembered defiance. I was about 4 years old, and my mother reluctantly agreed to let me have a kitten from my aunt's cat's litter. We lived in a house with a wide open porch. It had brick sides that were quite high from the ground. When we came home with the kitten, I dangled it over the side of the porch. My mother said, "Do not drop the cat over the side." Kitten continued to be dangled. "If you drop the cat over the side, we will take it right back to your auntie."
I imagine my face, staring back at mom, maybe daring her. I let go of the cat, and down it went to the yard below. Consequences came quickly. Mom retrieved the kitten, took me by the hand and climbed into the car for the 10 mile trip back to my aunt's house. That was that. Except for a couple strays that stayed with us briefly, there were no more cats in my life until I had my own home.
I think of Adam and Eve in a similar way. They were like children, living an idyllic life, all of their needs met before they even knew they needed something. And then, one day, they defied God. Their eyes were opened--not just to their nakedness but to guilt. That's why they hid. They grew up that day. They continued to have their God-given life, but now they were responsible and had to work for what they had--with all of the joys and sorrows that now came with their status as adults capable of making their own decisions--the good ones and the mistakes. And thus began the human story--created in God's image and declared "good." Beloved of God despite their wrong turns and their being, well, human.
Prayer: Creator and creating God, keep us mindful of the incredible gift of being made in your image, and stir in us the desire to use that gift as best we can, contributing to your dream for our world. Amen.
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