Minister's Moment

We are now solidly in the season of Lent. About 20 years ago, someone asked me what my favorite season of the liturgical year is, and I told her that it is Lent. She looked at me and just said, “Why?”

Well, the answer is simple. Lent is a time of contemplation. It is at a time of year when we have the opportunity to spend more time connecting to God in new and different ways. Lent is also a time of preparation for the coming good news – a reminder that, in the end, no matter what, God wins.

This year is a little different, though. We are studying stories from the gospels that aren’t usually associated with Lent. We are looking to scripture to “Tell Me Something Good” and ground us in the good-news teachings of Jesus once again. We are preparing for resurrection in a whole new way. And I’m glad of it.

On Ash Wednesday, I quoted author David P. Gushee. In his book The Moral Teachings of Jesus, speaking about the story of the Great Banquet from Luke, he writes: “It is as if Jesus is looking at every social gathering that he witnesses as a rehearsal for that great messianic banquet in the upside-down kingdom of God. And he [Jesus] suggests that we had better start thinking and acting in this same upside-down way if we wish to be ready for that day.”

This simple statement has given me a challenge (I give this challenge to you as well): How do I (we) participate in the upside-down kingdom of God? How do we live into it? And how does living in this upside-down kingdom affect how we live and move in the world?

As we move through this season, we will talk a lot about the upside-down kingdom of God. It is my hope and prayer that we will all experience God in new ways and that God will, once again, renew our weary spirits and remind us, as always, that in the end, GOD WINS.

May God bless us in new and exciting ways as we travel through Lent together.

Love,

Rev. Ann