Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Season of Lent continues through the month of March — to the celebration of Easter on April 1. The word Lent comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, which means the lengthening of the days as Spring appears. I have enjoyed the later sunsets. I am encouraged by the tulips and daffodils that have sprung up in my flower beds. Robins have returned to feast on the bugs and worms in my backyard. But if March 2018 is a typical March, we are still in for some cold wintry weather and some dark gloomy days keeping the sun hidden from our sight.
Lent is the 40 days before Easter not counting the Sundays. It reminds us of the 40 days of rain in the story of Noah, the 40 years of wan- dering in the wilderness to conclude the Exodus and the 40 days of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness immediately after his baptism and before the beginning of his ministry. The first half of the Gospel of Mark tells the story of Jesus’ ministry proclaiming the kingdom of God, doing miracles of healing and working for the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles. The second half begins with Jesus telling his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the religious leaders and be killed. And on the third day he would be raised.
On the way toward the joyous empty Easter tomb, there is much conflict and controversy. We discover that the world in which Jesus lived was very violent and terrifying. The rule of Satan and the power of sin seemed invincible. The one who had come to save was arrested, tried, and sentenced to excruciating torture and death on a cross. With his glorious resurrection, Jesus proved to be the victor over sin, evil and death — not by the sword but by loving obedience to God. He was not a warrior Messiah, but a Messiah of Peace!
Our journey through the Season of Lent will continue to be a confrontation with sin and evil and death. The violence and the hatred and the terror of our modern world seem overwhelming if not invincible. But our Messiah of Peace leads us in our conflict with the evil of this world, not with sword or gun, but with the power of a gracious love that will prove to be eternally victorious. So armed with the love of God and love of neighbor, we take up our cross and follow Jesus. We exercise acts of self-giving love and we look to see the Holy Spirit at work to transform the world one person at a time, one community at a time, one nation at a time until that glorious day when, “At the name of Jesus every knee will bend, in heaven on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the
Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
I invite you to join with me in making worship on Wednesdays and on the weekend a part of your Lenten journey. Together as the church, we are lacking no spiritual gifts as we carry out our mission of Making Christ Known.
To You God’s Peace and Joy,
Pastor Ron Poisel