Hi Faith Family!
Today is the beginning of Lent. This day is called "Ash Wednesday" due to the custom of daubing the forehead with ashes of the previous year's palms from the church's Palm Sunday celebration. This was to signify penitence and human mortality.
Early in the history of the Christian Church, Easter was preceded by a period of penitential reflection and preparation called “Lent.” There was a custom of fasting during this time. The length of time varied until the fast was finally extened to 40 days, after the analogy of the period of the Lord’s temptation (Matthew 4:2). Ash Wednesday has been the 1st day of Lent since the Gelasian Sacramentary (around 750 A.D.).
The irony lies in the correlation of two calendars: the church year calendar and the Vietnamese New Year Calendar. I have felt this strange contrast increasing over recent years. Take this year for example:
Today: Febrary 6, 2008: Ash Wednesday. Today marks the beginning of the season for devotional contemplation of all the Savior has endured in order to give us forgiveness, peace and heaven.
Tomorrow: February 7, 2008: Tết! The Vietnamese New Year Celebration filled with excitement, happiness, hope for the future--all wrapped up in a party atmosphere.
Those two don't go together! The conflict in theme and scope are tremendous. Can't you feel the tension?!
Well, that's O.K. Let the tension remain, while giving yourself to both. Enjoy the New Year tomorrow, just as we celebrated at church this past Sunday. Maybe you will have a party for the New Year tomorrow; chances are, you are working as usual. Some families went back to Vietnam for the New Year and are celebrating in style! Good. Enjoy. Have Fun.
But also during these 40 days of Lent, I invite you to walk with me on a lenten series entitled:
"Guilt Trip."
This series will endeavor to emphasise that a "guilt trip" is a good thing and a short trip. Our guilt trip is the distance between where you are right now and the cross of your loving Savior. I pray this will be a reflective and meaningful series as we together spend time in giving careful thought and consideration to all Jesus went through in order to show you his love for you. God bless you today.
Prayer idea: Give thanks for your Savior Jesus and all he endured for your soul's salvation. Spend a moment to consider Jesus' time on the cross, giving thanks for his committed love toward you. Pray for someone whose faith is weak or troubled.
Blessings on your week!
--Pastor Dan