LENT 1C
February 25, 2007
SCRIPTURE
-God uses the wilderness for preparation. Jesus is in good company; Elijah and Moses spent time in the wilderness, as did of course the whole people of Israel. 40 years for them, 40 days for Jesus
-Nicolas Berdyaev, a devout Christian, observed, "I always knew...that freedom gives birth to suffering, while the refusal to be free diminishes suffering...freedom is hard; it is a heavy burden." We face this burden on the Lenten journey.
-It is Leap Year Day when our clocks catch up with the cosmic chronometer. As we say, “There’s a homily in there somewhere.” The catching up with something bigger, something outside us and yet inside might be lent. Larry Gillick
-Lent is a great and graced time to face our temptations and deface them gracefully. Larry Gillick
-In essence, the devil says to him, "Be both in this world and of this world. de Jong
-A London newspaper sought the help of its subscribers in addressing the problem of evil. Readers were invited to send in their responses to the question, What is wrong with the world today? The best response of all was also the briefest. It read, Dear Sir, I am. Yours faithfully, G.K. Chesterton.
-Temptation Is an Enticement to Use a Short Cut to Reach a Desirable Goal. Temptation is NOT sin. But yielding to temptation IS sin.
-The number forty in scriptural symbolism does not usually indicate a specific amount of time. Rather, it reflects something that happened for *a very long time*.
- Compare Jesus struggle with 'survival' in the desert with The CBS program "Survival". Do the ends justify the means? Apparently on T.V., they do. Rev. Beth Quick
- I wonder what Jesus would have been tempted by in the 21st century? Power? Materials? Security?
-"Where Humanity Fails, Jesus Prevails!" Rev. Alex Stevenson
-To err is truly human
-"To err is human; to forgive is divine." "The devil made me do it." "I'm only human." “I couldn’t help myself.” These phrases suggest that when temptation comes along we are merely the victims
- I made the mistake of telling my father, "But Dad, I'm only human.! He wisely answered, "No, the problem is you are not human enough." Lindy (Jesus was human enough!)
QUOTES
HUMOR
ILLUSTRATION
CHILDREN
PRAYER PHRASES
LENT
- If something is worth giving up, it should be for more than just the few weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Lent and Advent are both preparation times before a big event
- I think of Lent as an Outward Bound for the soul. No one has to sign up for it, but if you do then you give up the illusion that you are in control of your life. B.B. Taylor~~
-. Lent = "Lencten" meaning spring time (Old English)
- If sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end. (Buechner)
- Buechner suggests that during lent we ask these questions:
a. When you look in the mirror what do you see you most like...you most want to deplore
b. What last message would you give to a handful of people most dear to you. (25 words or less)
c. Which thing you have done would you most like to undo?
d. What person, or cause would you die for?
e. If this were the last day of your life, what would you do?
Answering these help us to see who we are and what we are becoming.
-. Fill communion cups with water so we can so we can taste the “almost nothing” that is living.
- Illustration Pretzel -- an ancient bakery item. Used to be eaten only during lent. Goes back to 5th century. Shape is made in the form of two arms crossed in prayer.
- Ash Wednesday is a kind of baptismal branding.
- Lenten penance may be more effective if we fail in our resolutions than if we succeed for its purpose is not to confirm us but to bring home to us our need for salvation.