Lenten Reality

[Pilgrim]

I just wanted to express my spiritual estate going into this Lenten season. The last week or so I have found myself in a spiritual trough. I have been convicted of my sinful nature (Guys you know what I am talking about, we get unreasonably angry with our spouse, or we think wrong things when we see some woman wearing cloths that are a little too revealing, it's our nature working against us I suppose) and what that looks like next to a holy and perfect God. I was getting real down about it and then suddenly it came to me, this is a seasonal thing. We are moving into lent when we are supposed to be convicted of our shortcommings. I find that I am more and more sensing my spirit ebb and flow with the liturgical calendar. I think that is a good thing.

With that in mind I post for your consideration part of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy including the Litany of Penitence from our Book of Common Worship.

INVITATION TO THE OBSERVANCE OF THE LENTEN DISCIPLINE
Friends in Christ, every year at the time of the Christian passover we celebrate our redmption through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lent is a time to prepare for this celebration and to renew our life in the paschal mystery. We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance, and for the mercy of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ

We begin our journey to Easter with the sign of ashes. This ancient sign speaks of the frailty and uncertainty of human life, and marks the penitence of the community.

I invite you therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God both written and living.

Let us bow before God, our creator and Redeemer, and confess our sin.

Psalm 51 is sung or said (We sing it to the tune of Amazing grace)

Litany of Penitence (italics said in unison)
Let us pray,
Holy and merciful God, we confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us, O God.

We have not listened to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Sprirt.

Have mercy on us, O God.

We confess to you, O God, all our past unfaithfulness: The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives.

We confess to you, O god.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways and our exploitation of other people,

We confess to you, O God.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of of those more fortunate than ourselves, our intemperate love of worldly good and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,

We confess to you, O God.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,

We confess to you, O God,

Accept our repentance, O God, for the wrongs we have done. For our neglect of human need and suffering and our indefference to injustice and cruelty. For all false judgements, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward thos who differ from us,

Accept our repentance, O God

For our waste and pollution of your creation and our lack of concern for those who come after us,

Accept our repentance, O God

restore us, O God, and let your anger depart from us.

Favorably hear us, O God, for your mercy is great.

IMPOSITION OF ASHES
Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. May these ashes be for us a sign of our mortality and penitence, and a reminder that only be your gracious gift are we given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen

(the people come forward and the ashes are placed on the forhead with the following words)

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

(after all have received the ashes...)

Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.
By the cross and passion of our Savior,
bring us with all your saints to the joy of Christ's resurrection.

____________


I hope as you journey with Christ to the Cross this season you find comfort in the reality of a crucified and risen Lord. May the Passion renew in you a fanatacism and longing for righteousness.

Peace,
Pilgrim

[Secretary of Education - Colin the Cat]

So why did you wait until Lent to do something about it. :huh:

You knew you were coming up short in your relationships, so why not repent and make amends and not wait until some 40 day mandated period?

My dear brother in Christ, we all sin and fall short of His glory. He wants us to repent and cast our cares at His feet ALL YEAR LONG.

I guess I just don't get the whole Lent thing, and I used to be a Catholic (RCIA initiated):huh:

[Pilgrim]

Why is it that when a believer expresses a strong spiritual reality and a positive moment of relationship with God, some other believer always seems to misunderstand the whole thing in negative terms?

The lenten season is not some set of rote rules one follows, it is a liturgical tool that can be used to remind us of the significance of spiritual disciplines and our incredible favor in God's eyes. A favor that is a true gift of grace. That is all I was trying to express. Not that I have been dwelling in my sin, because I haven't, just that I have been more aware of our fallen nature lately. And that that awarness drives me to a profound relationship with God as I understand exactly what happened on the Cross for us.

By the way, I'm not Catholic either. I am a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I am very much in-tune with the liturgical calander and see it as a very useful tool in coming closer to God. The readings come together for me in a wholistic fasion and I see the unity of scripture in a very profound way. It also helps me to understand my faith not only in an intensly personal way but in a corporate sense that is both historical and contemporary.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

May the peace of Christ be with you this Holy Day.

Pilgrim

[Secretary of Education - Colin the Cat]

sorry for the negative tone. It didn't come across right. Paul said :

Rom 14:5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.


I just want to understand it better so I don't offend my brother (which I obviously did!:cry: ) Please forgive my ignorance of your observance :dunce: :whip:

[Jaltus]

The point was not the when but the what.

Just as Easter reminds us of what our Lord did for us, so does Lent remind us of what we should be doing in order to bear His name.

Good posts, Pa.

[Secretary of Education - Colin the Cat]

I agree completely!!

[Pilgrim]

Good enough then. And we're all still fellows in Christ!
peace,
Pilgrim

[Pilgrim]

Although I have to admit you got me to thinking hard Bill. Why is it that I identify so much with Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday? They are the Holy days that resonate most with my soul.

Your question is making me evaluate that closely to make sure I'm not just being obsessed with my dark side.

After thinking about it I am sure that I am not...I am just feeling the way David did on occasion when he realized who he was next to a holy God and how we needed intervention to overcome that gap in our characters.

I suppose the true joy of the resurrection can only be fully appreciated by the realization of our utter baseness. We go from this intense realization of our sin and the guilt that brings to this overwhelming thanksgiving and joy when we understand that death has been defeated.

Still, I admit, that sometimes my guilt is unreasonable. It's a guilt that is fueled by the fact that it was not Adam alone who made the cross necessary but it was me and my sin. It is sometimes very aweful to think about my participation in the humilation of my God. So your words have made me understand that Bill. Thanks. Now all I can do is thank God for Grace and then try to share the love he has shown me with those around me.

[Carl Smuda]

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.

[Pilgrim]

03-05-2003 @ 04:34 PM
Jaltus:

The point was not the when but the what.

Just as Easter reminds us of what our Lord did for us, so does Lent remind us of what we should be doing in order to bear His name.

Good posts, Pa.

thanks for saying in one sentance what took me 2 whole posts! jerk! :teeth: