Does it feel like Lent?.... the season of Lent when we somehow...
journey together towards.... what, really?
Lent is the period of time... in the Christian church,
leading up to Easter. Lent is a time... a period of time.
We talk about it... mark it... journey through it with language and ritual...
we name it as ‘something’.
So it must be important! And I think it is!
If we just jump right to Easter...
or simply let time go by without acknowledging Lent...
then I think we would miss a lot.
But it would be easier... way easier.
I remember my son Allan... asking if he could
have his birthday tomorrow and wait for it later?
Waiting is hard... the journey is not always as we expect...
but every year, we ‘do’ Lent.
Does it look like Lent???
Does Lent... have a look?
Does it feel like Lent??
Does Lent... have feel to it?
Perhaps you didn’t even think about Lent
until I mentioned it as I welcomed you here this morning.
and then you forgot about it until just now.
I invite you to journey through this season of Lent,
wrapped in prayer.
This Lent... here in this place...
we will remember the traditional themes,
but we will surround ourselves in prayer, as we journey.
And we will continue to learn about the various
streams in our Theological Banquet,
learning more about our unity in our diversity,
and grow to appreciate each other’s strengths.
This morning we are celebrating our Ecumenical sisters and brothers!
If you live out your faith primarily with an ecumenical heart,
then you likely think globally, yearn for justice for all people
and embrace a diversity of faith traditions.
Also during the season of Lent,
you are encouraged to add something to your day, to your living.
Carve out some time to enrich your life by giving to others,
by doing small acts of kindness.
Last week I invited you to make a list of people you know and care about,
and then pray for them every day.
This week I challenge you to be in touch with a family member
that is on the fringes of your regular contacts.
Just call, check in, and wish them well.
As I prepared for today’s Worship,
I was caught by the words in our Psalm...
God did not hide...
the face of God was not hidden.
I was also struck by the number of Covenants we can find in scripture.
>> We serve:
A God that is not hidden... and a God that makes Covenants.
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel.... these names remind us
about Covenants in the Hebrew scriptures.
The Gospels of Mark, Luke and Matthew talk about covenants as well,
covenants with the people,
and the Covenant rooted,
in the new life... offered through the life of Jesus the Christ.
And all along the way, when there are covenants...
you will find the creation of NEW Covenants...
Covenants get broken or changed and so new ones are made.
A Covenant is... an agreement between two or more parties,
specifically for the performance of some action.
When God is a part of the Covenant,
we know that God’s part will be honoured.
Foundational to a Covenant is the understanding of relationship...
a relationship of devotion and oneness.
It might go without saying... but I will say it anyway...
the idea of Covenant-making has deep spiritual roots.
Perhaps we could say that we are a people of Covenants...
- God promising to always to care for us.
- God’s love being everlasting.
- The Holy ... nurturing our hearts and souls.
- God being nearer than our breath, dancing with the stars, and lighting up the cosmos.
- The creator calming our fears, being our grounding, setting us free.
We are people of a Covenant God.
Blessed and held and loved!
As people of faith, as a church...
we make Covenants with others.
One of the fundamental Covenants,
that we are trying to live into,
is the Covenant made with our Aboriginal sisters and brothers.
It has become all too clear that the old Covenants,
including many of the treaties, have not served the demands of justice.
There are moral and spiritual dimensions
to making and keeping covenants
and we are finally working towards reconciliation.
When we pray... our conversations with God,
are Covenant-like... are they not?
In prayer the face of God is not hidden,
- we open ourselves to the Holy...
- we form a relationship and have a conversation.
In prayer, we seek connection and oneness.
Not only do we seek God,
God seeks us.
I’ll share again the quote of Henri Nouwen from last week:
I am deeply convinced that the necessity of prayer,
and to pray unceasingly, is not as much based
on our desire for God as on God’s desire for us.
It is God’s passionate pursuit of us that calls us to prayer.
God does not hide.
In prayer we do not hide.
In prayer God is the one we seek...
and God seeks us!
If we are willing to seek God in prayer... and in the ordinary.
I believe we will find the face of God...
exposed... wonderfully and wildly.
-As you greet one another here at Church,
or in the grocery store...
watch for the face of God.
-In the midst of our choir leading with song,
watch for the face of God as they sing.
-When scripture is read,
watch for the face of God.
-A crocus peeking through the snow.
God’s face revealed.
-When you sit in silence, and lean into the Holy...
God is there, not hidden.
-As people put coins into the little church,
watch for the face of God.
-When a child stands ready to sing the bowl,
you will see the face of God.
-When your friends talk about Grandchildren,
you will see the face of God.
-When you put your heart, body and soul,
into singing a hymn... the face of God.
The Covenant God made with Abraham...
an everlasting Covenant...
... it still stands firm today.
It is unending...
The details about Abraham being the father of nations,
is personal to Abraham... Yet we are spiritual ancestors.
God is our God.. nearer than our breath,
and beyond the cosmos.
We are people of a Covenant God.
Blessed and held and loved!
God is our God... and thankfully,
God does not hide... but seeks us with love.
May it be so.