A Word from Pastor Jay

“Every family needs prayers for one reason or another.” That sentence stood out to me years ago as I was having a conversation with someone who was having medical issues and who was so very appreciative of being on the  congregation’s prayer list and knowing that prayers were being offered each week. The statement has popped into my mind from time to time and has made sense as I’ve thought about our common human plight in this world. As I think  about the season we are in (Epiphany) and the season which starts toward the end of February (Lent) the statement seems to fit into the transition we are about to make. Epiphany, of course, is the season during which we celebrate the Messiah (Jesus) appearing to the world and making himself and God’s plan of salvation known. We celebrate Jesus as the light which overcomes the darkness of the world during the season of Epiphany and focus on the mission of Jesus as he travels throughout Galilee connecting with people who need to feel the light of God in their lives. The people Jesus meets along his journey are people whose lives are broken by illness, sin, grief, despair, hunger and any number of other issues which leave them feeling less than whole. In the midst of their darkness Jesus enters as the light who brings the fullness of God’s life into their lives in ways that help them to feel whole again. In brokenness those whom Jesus encounters live lives of fear and helplessness and hopelessness. Jesus brings to them the very hope and reality of the truth of a loving God who is present in their lives.

The season of Lent, then, turns the action of Jesus and his encounters with our brokenness toward the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation. The journey of Jesus turns from walking throughout Galilee to heading toward Jerusalem. On this journey we see a purposeful Jesus as the Scriptures take on a more ominous feel. There can be only one reason, one fate for this journey toward Jerusalem. Jesus is about to take on the powerful. We know already how this will end. Jesus will take the cross and die. Steeped in this knowledge we  journey with Jesus as we journey through Lent, understanding that God’s plan of salvation is unfolding and that this plan of salvation is for us.

Even so, our Lenten journey is one deeply connected to our human brokenness. We see in every measure that we are human and that our lives have a beginning and an end. We start the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday hearing the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” In hearing those words we are reminded that we are not God, and that we are broken by our sinfulness, our imperfection, our creatureliness. Our brokenness is revealed in our human bodies which are touched by illness, disease and simple human ageing. Our brokenness is sharpened by our broken relationships, our loss of those precious to us, and all the ways we negatively impact family and community life. Our brokenness is measured in our emotional pain, our grief, our fear, our anger, our loneliness, our despair, our neediness and in our countless other emotions which keep us from leading full and joyous lives.

In truth, for some reason or other, every family is in need of our prayers because every family is touched by brokenness in some way. Lent is a reminder of that. So, as we transition from Epiphany to Lent this year and as we witness Jesus active in the lives of those who are broken, we are reminded of our mission, to be the light of Christ active in the midst of the darkness of this world. We, too, have the mission to share the very presence of a loving God with those who do not feel that presence. Part of that mission is to pray on behalf of those who are hurting, who feel broken. Then, too, during the season of Lent, we consider deeply our need, both individual and corporate, of God’s love and life. We see the brokenness in ourselves and this world. Then, understanding better the reality we face, we place our trust in God’s grace. In this we are not disappointed, for beyond Lent God has another surprise in store. We call it Easter.