Greetings Siblings in Christ,
We are now entering into the month of March, and we are fully into our Lenten season. On February 18th, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent serves as a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is time that we recognize our own human fragility and our mortality. It is time that we confess our sins and we turn to God asking for forgiveness. It is a time for reflection. Thus, this year our theme for Lent is “Dwelling.” So far in these 40 days of Lent, together we have contemplated what it means to dwell: to dwell in God, to dwell in each other, and to dwell in the world. In a world that is so often divided, it is important for us to learn and to reflect on how we are being called to dwell. To dwell, is to be fully present. It is to learn how to abide and to fully listen. It is to be attentive to whom or to what is in front of us. Furthermore, dwelling is not a short-term affair, but to dwell is to live or remain somewhere or with someone for a period of time. Therefore, to dwell is a commitment to sit, listen, and remain with God and with each other. However, sometimes, this feels like an impossible task because of our human nature and inclination to turn ourselves away from each other and away from God. Then sometimes, we feel like we are not worthy to be in the presence of God and of each other because of the ways that we have failed in the past to dwell. However, this is why we are called to reflect and repent. When we confess, we name the way that we have failed, and we turn ourselves to the cross where through Jesus Christ we are made dead to sin and raised into new life. A life where we learn what it means to carry our own cross and truly dwell with our Lord. In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus tells his disciples:
“If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?”
This Lent we are called to remember these words from Jesus as we learn how to dwell. When we began these 40 days on Ash Wednesday, we were marked with the cross of Christ with ashes on our foreheads. These ashes serve as a reminder of our mortality. However, in our mortality and human fragility, we are reminded that our lives are in Christ. We are reminded of our baptism, where we are also marked with the cross of Christ on our foreheads, and where we heard the words “child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” Thus, to dwell is to be marked with the cross of Christ. It is to die to sin and to be raised into new life. It is to remember our baptism and our baptismal promises, and sometimes that may mean doing things that are hard or things that we are not used to doing. It may mean doing things that make us uncomfortable or may even be dangerous. However, in doing so we learn how to live a life of Christ. We learn what it means to dwell. Thus, this Lent, as we reflect more on how we are being called to turn away from sin and instead dwell with God and each other, may we do so knowing that we are marked with the cross of Christ and that our God dwells within us. Therefore, we can learn what it means to dwell, and what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus, and to go where we are being called to be. So, let us pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, and we do in Jesus, the dwelling one, we pray, amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
We are now entering into the month of March, and we are fully into our Lenten season. On February 18th, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent serves as a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is time that we recognize our own human fragility and our mortality. It is time that we confess our sins and we turn to God asking for forgiveness. It is a time for reflection. Thus, this year our theme for Lent is “Dwelling.” So far in these 40 days of Lent, together we have contemplated what it means to dwell: to dwell in God, to dwell in each other, and to dwell in the world. In a world that is so often divided, it is important for us to learn and to reflect on how we are being called to dwell. To dwell, is to be fully present. It is to learn how to abide and to fully listen. It is to be attentive to whom or to what is in front of us. Furthermore, dwelling is not a short-term affair, but to dwell is to live or remain somewhere or with someone for a period of time. Therefore, to dwell is a commitment to sit, listen, and remain with God and with each other. However, sometimes, this feels like an impossible task because of our human nature and inclination to turn ourselves away from each other and away from God. Then sometimes, we feel like we are not worthy to be in the presence of God and of each other because of the ways that we have failed in the past to dwell. However, this is why we are called to reflect and repent. When we confess, we name the way that we have failed, and we turn ourselves to the cross where through Jesus Christ we are made dead to sin and raised into new life. A life where we learn what it means to carry our own cross and truly dwell with our Lord. In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus tells his disciples:
“If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?”
This Lent we are called to remember these words from Jesus as we learn how to dwell. When we began these 40 days on Ash Wednesday, we were marked with the cross of Christ with ashes on our foreheads. These ashes serve as a reminder of our mortality. However, in our mortality and human fragility, we are reminded that our lives are in Christ. We are reminded of our baptism, where we are also marked with the cross of Christ on our foreheads, and where we heard the words “child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” Thus, to dwell is to be marked with the cross of Christ. It is to die to sin and to be raised into new life. It is to remember our baptism and our baptismal promises, and sometimes that may mean doing things that are hard or things that we are not used to doing. It may mean doing things that make us uncomfortable or may even be dangerous. However, in doing so we learn how to live a life of Christ. We learn what it means to dwell. Thus, this Lent, as we reflect more on how we are being called to turn away from sin and instead dwell with God and each other, may we do so knowing that we are marked with the cross of Christ and that our God dwells within us. Therefore, we can learn what it means to dwell, and what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus, and to go where we are being called to be. So, let us pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, and we do in Jesus, the dwelling one, we pray, amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
