What if we take just one small step to deepen Lent beyond what we thought was possible...?
And then followed it up by a dynamic Easter AND Eastertide that expected TRANSFORMATION in everyone!
Easter proclaims the most transformative event in the history of the world. Billions of lives have been changed because of its truth and power.
Yet today, 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, it’s treated like another secular holiday. For most people it’s devoid of the power expected of the most important “Holy Day” of the year!
****
Yes, I agree, we church folks spend a great deal of time and energy preparing for Holy Week and Easter.
We have special services, Prayer, Egg hunts, Drama, celebratory music, and a carefully prepared message. It’s quite a production.
But what is the result of all that time, energy, leadership capital and prayer?
Do we see any profound spiritual transformation in the lives of those who participate or attend?
Do we even EXPECT to see that kind of transformation?
It’s been my experience that after it’s all over, we put away the decorations and pageantry (just like we do with Christmas) and move on to Mother’s Day, graduations and anniversaries.
Any transformation that may happen is quiet, personal, rarely shared, and hardly ever celebrated.
What if.......during LENT:
We took a small step to turn Lent into the profound preparation for the gateway of Easter it was meant to be.
What if...
We added small moments of SILENCE to all our Lenten services and messages.
So, instead of filling the world with more, we give it LESS. We can offer each other a time to experience God in silence instead of getting more thinking.
For example:
We could offer silence BEFORE and AFTER the scripture to prepare our hearts and to think about God’s word deeply.
We could read the scripture in a Lectio Divina way, slowly and encouraging the listeners to plant the word or image God is offering into our hearts and so cherish it there.
We could shorten our written prayers and allow a full two minutes of silence after each spoken prayer to deepen and broaden them.
We could read scripture a second time, slowly, right before the sermon, to let it sink in even more.
We could leave a time of silence AFTER the sermon to encourage reflection on the message so carefully crafted.
We could even have times DURING the sermon to pause and let the words and images sink into each one’s life in a time of prayerful LISTENING to God, surrounded by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
(We might even discourage applause for any music or drama performed and invite people to engage it’s deeper meaning and power for a few moments.... in silence.)
We know that our Quaker brothers and sisters spend whole services sitting in silence, for an hour or more.
Could we not set aside a few moments during each Lenten service for some silence, to appreciate the presence of God around us?
...To listen for God’s words in our hearts? ...To reflect on God’s wisdom in scripture?
We could encourage everyone to take time at home to sit in silence each day. They could reflect on the week's scripture, message, music or a devotional of their choice.
And then, after doing this for the whole season of Lent and Holy Week, we approach Easter not as a one-time event, but as a doorway, the porch of Heaven that Christ has invited us to step onto and live a transformed life.
In our next newsletter we’ll explore what a dynamic Eastertide might be, filled with the truth that “Every Morning is Easter Morning” (....from now on!)
It will include a series of sermon starters and scriptures for Eastertide that explore and actively expect transformation in some of the most problematic areas of our lives.
But until that next time, you can prepare by reviewing all your Lenten worship times including Holy Week, and see where you can add some significant and profound silence.
Silence to stop the distractions of the world.
Silence to set aside our busy thoughts that rumble around our minds all day.
Silence to listen to God in deep and profound ways.
Silence to consider what it really means to be transformed into a “Citizen of Heaven” (Phi 3:20), living life on a completely different level.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Terry
Yet today, 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, it’s treated like another secular holiday. For most people it’s devoid of the power expected of the most important “Holy Day” of the year!
****
Yes, I agree, we church folks spend a great deal of time and energy preparing for Holy Week and Easter.
We have special services, Prayer, Egg hunts, Drama, celebratory music, and a carefully prepared message. It’s quite a production.
But what is the result of all that time, energy, leadership capital and prayer?
Do we see any profound spiritual transformation in the lives of those who participate or attend?
Do we even EXPECT to see that kind of transformation?
It’s been my experience that after it’s all over, we put away the decorations and pageantry (just like we do with Christmas) and move on to Mother’s Day, graduations and anniversaries.
Any transformation that may happen is quiet, personal, rarely shared, and hardly ever celebrated.
What if.......during LENT:
We took a small step to turn Lent into the profound preparation for the gateway of Easter it was meant to be.
What if...
We added small moments of SILENCE to all our Lenten services and messages.
So, instead of filling the world with more, we give it LESS. We can offer each other a time to experience God in silence instead of getting more thinking.
For example:
We could offer silence BEFORE and AFTER the scripture to prepare our hearts and to think about God’s word deeply.
We could read the scripture in a Lectio Divina way, slowly and encouraging the listeners to plant the word or image God is offering into our hearts and so cherish it there.
We could shorten our written prayers and allow a full two minutes of silence after each spoken prayer to deepen and broaden them.
We could read scripture a second time, slowly, right before the sermon, to let it sink in even more.
We could leave a time of silence AFTER the sermon to encourage reflection on the message so carefully crafted.
We could even have times DURING the sermon to pause and let the words and images sink into each one’s life in a time of prayerful LISTENING to God, surrounded by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
(We might even discourage applause for any music or drama performed and invite people to engage it’s deeper meaning and power for a few moments.... in silence.)
We know that our Quaker brothers and sisters spend whole services sitting in silence, for an hour or more.
Could we not set aside a few moments during each Lenten service for some silence, to appreciate the presence of God around us?
...To listen for God’s words in our hearts? ...To reflect on God’s wisdom in scripture?
We could encourage everyone to take time at home to sit in silence each day. They could reflect on the week's scripture, message, music or a devotional of their choice.
And then, after doing this for the whole season of Lent and Holy Week, we approach Easter not as a one-time event, but as a doorway, the porch of Heaven that Christ has invited us to step onto and live a transformed life.
In our next newsletter we’ll explore what a dynamic Eastertide might be, filled with the truth that “Every Morning is Easter Morning” (....from now on!)
It will include a series of sermon starters and scriptures for Eastertide that explore and actively expect transformation in some of the most problematic areas of our lives.
But until that next time, you can prepare by reviewing all your Lenten worship times including Holy Week, and see where you can add some significant and profound silence.
Silence to stop the distractions of the world.
Silence to set aside our busy thoughts that rumble around our minds all day.
Silence to listen to God in deep and profound ways.
Silence to consider what it really means to be transformed into a “Citizen of Heaven” (Phi 3:20), living life on a completely different level.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Terry
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