A Lent Perspective - thoughts from District Apostle Kolb.
The season of Lent begins February 14, 2024.
Lent has not been actively observed in our USA church in the past. I recall that many years ago, the District Apostle Kraus was surprised that someone had requested a wedding during Lent. At that time, the bigger shock was from the ministers who were unaccustomed to the fact that, in the general Christian community, weddings were not conducted during this special season, and even that the District Apostle considered this.
Over the past years, the Chief Apostle has turned our focus to this season prior to Holy Week and the Passion of Christ. It is worthwhile that we familiarize ourselves with the understanding of this observance as well as its importance.
Please allow me to outline a few guiding thoughts using the verses of a well-known hymn (#99 in our hymnal): More holiness give me ...
Lent is a time to separate ourselves from the mundane. To be holy means to be set apart and, in this sense, to make time in our normal life for a higher purpose; to consider something different and greater in a more intentional manner.
More tears for His sorrows, more pain for His grief...
Lent is a time to look to Jesus Christ and to reflect on His suffering and death; to truly try to "come near to the Cross" and recognize what He did in solidarity and love for all humans—what He did for me. Our somber contemplation is solemn and deepens as we move through this season, bringing us to a clearer focus of the magnitude of Christ's Passion.
More sorrow for sin...
Lent is a time to then consider ourselves and our own sinfulness juxtaposed before the great grace of Christ; to grieve and be remorseful in this recognition. We are humbled to a more profound repentance, remembering first that an awareness of our sin is necessary, followed by remorse, then confession, resolution, and forgiveness of others.
More fit for the kingdom, more used would I be...
Lent is also a time of introspection to see if we really are following the will of God out of love for Christ, or only out of obligation. In Isaiah 58 we see that God is disappointed with His people because they fast only out of obligation and neglect to understand really what the Lord desired. If the people had loved Him, they would have already been moved to serve each other, as He explains. Thus, in a deeper sense, fasting—a common act during Lent—is not just to cease from an activity, but to stop doing other things; to do something out of love for God (please see the included attachment titled "Fasting that Pleases God").
Kommentare