Lenten Challenge

We all know February 14 is Valentine’s Day, but it also kicks off the Lenten Season this year as Ash Wednesday falls on the same day. It will be a delicate balance between cards, candy, and flowers on one side and sackcloth, ashes, and penitence on the other. I believe this “double-booking” allows all of us to examine the true meaning of love. The biblical witness tells us love is more of a lasting commitment than a fleeting emotion. It is far more about sacrifice than sugary treats or saccharine Hallmark cards.

• “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another” (John 15:9-17, NRSV.)

I want to challenge you to do something different this Lent. Lots of people give something up like sugary sweets or meat on Friday (it’s Filet-O-Fish Season.) Others do something extra like volunteering with children, writing letters to the homebound, or reading the Bible every day. For the past decade, I have encouraged members to drink only clean tap water for the 40 days of Lent. Giving up the morning trip to Starbucks or the evening glass of wine might be a tall task for some, but it will help us comprehend how much money we spend on beverages. Moreover, we can use the money we save to support agencies like the Marion Medical Mission who dig wells across Africa. We are blessed to have clean water in our community, and this challenge helps us to understand the needs of those who have less and support groups who are working to provide living water for all God’s children.

We will present our gifts the Sunday after Easter and have a special celebration. I hope you will join me and the St. Mark family as we take the Lenten Challenge together.

In Hope and Confidence,

Pastor Dave