Ash Wednesday and Lent

You mean that not everyone observes Lent and Ash Wednesday?
What a sheltered life I've led

This is a great reflection from Higher Things (a wonderful Lutheran website) that discusses Lent.

"And it happened as He approached to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat
by the road begging." (Luke 8:35)
Please read the full Gospel text: St. Luke 18:31-43

In the name of Jesus. Amen. On Quinquagesima Sunday, we find ourselves
exactly fifty days from Easter Sunday. Does that mean that our Lord Jesus
has only Easter on His mind?

No, Jesus has Jerusalem on His mind. Before Easter, He is going up to
Jerusalem, completing all things written by the prophets about the Son of
Man. He will be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted, and spit upon.
Then, they will beat Him with a whip and murder Him.

On the third day after the Cross, there is Easter. But without the Cross --
without Jesus dying for you and me -- Easter does us no good. Everything
depends on the Cross, on Jesus dying in Jerusalem for sinners. When Jesus
dies on Good Friday, He wins salvation for you and me, and rescues us from
everything that might ever harm us.

The problem is that I don’t believe His Word. Instead, I worry about how I
will stand before God. I wonder how I can fix the things I’ve done: evil
things, dreadful thoughts, and terrible deeds. I have good days when I feel
closer to God, and bad days where I look around and wonder where He is. You
know what I mean, don’t you? You have the same thoughts and the same days.

What makes matters worse is that we still decide to get better. We resolve
to start doing this or that, maybe even to give up this or that for Lent. We
’ll do anything to get ourselves out of the bad situation we are in with
God.

Dr. Luther once said that the Lord gives only into empty hands. Lent is the
season in which Jesus clears away all the things that we cling to besides
Him. Lent isn't a self-improvement season, it's the season where our Lord
empties our hands so that He can fill them with His gifts. He gives us His
forgiveness for our sins, His eternal life for our death, His righteousness
for our unrighteousness.

The Lord showed His love for a blind beggar today by opening his eyes. That’
s what Jesus does, He saves. He takes all that He won for us on the Cross
and He makes it ours in the waters of our Baptism. Faith receives the Word
of God, the promise of the Gospel in the water, and we are saved. Faith is
receiving gifts from Jesus.

Christ loves the beggar and He loves us, and so we also love the ones He
puts in our way. We don’t love them to earn love from Him, but because we
are loved by God, we love those He has given us – mother, father, sister,
brother, wife, husband, neighbor, and co-worker. As He showed His love for
us on the Cross, so we too give ourselves for those He has given us.

Remember Jesus headed for Jerusalem as the Lord empties your hands in
preparation for Lent. He’s going to the Cross to die for us. Then, in fifty
days, we will rejoice in His resurrection. But first for Jesus, there is the
Cross for you and for me. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Be Thou my strong Rock; for an house of defense to save me. Thou art my Rock
and my Fortress; therefore for Thy name’s sake lead me and guide me. In
Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Thy
righteousness. (Ps. 31:1-3 – Introit for Quinquagesima)

Other readings this week
Isaiah 35:3-7
1 Corinthians 13
St. Luke 18:31-43

Higher Things Reflections are written by Rev. George F. Borghardt III,
Assistant Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX.

Higher Things Reflections are distributed weekly to the Reflections list,
and daily during Advent and Lent. Beginning this Wednesday, Reflections
will be sent and posted online daily. Download all the Lenten Reflections
in booklet format for personal or congregational use at
www.higherthings.org.

Higher Things Devotions

Devotions from Higher Things, sponsor of conferences, retreats,
publications, web sites, e-mail lists, and leadership training
opportunities for youth.

Visit our website at: www.HigherThings.org
Visit our campus website at: www.HTCampus.org

I had not observed Lent nor Ash Wednesday before coming to the Lutheran Church. I go, "Look at what we've been missing!" ... other churches at most have it written on their church calendar, and that is IT. It is another reason I appreciate the Lutheran Church so much more.

This is a great reflection from Higher Things (a wonderful Lutheran website) that discusses Lent

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Thanks for sharing that.

Not sure if this is what you are looking. I posted this over on the womens board since so many denominations do not even have a church calendar, so they do not celebrate Ash Wednesday or Lent. So many had no idea what it was.

Did the Christ really have to suffer these things and then enter His glory? Many Christians today want to forget about the suffering and just jump straight to the glory. Lutherans begin our Easter celebration six weeks before Easter Sunday on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the day Lent begins. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for the season we also call Spring. Lent extends from Ash Wednesday until Maunday Thursday of Holy Week which precedes Easter. Thus, Lent consists of forty days plus six Sundays. The observance of Lent first appeared early in church history as a reflection of Christ's forty days in the wilderness before His ministry began.

Today, Lent remains a season of repentance and contemplation in preparation for Easter. Lent is a time in which we consider why the Christ did have to suffer these things before entering His glory.

The liturgical color of Lent is purple. It is a dark color, the darkest of the liturgical colors, and it shows Lent to be sober time of repentance. Purple is also a royal color for the suffering of the King of Kings.

Most of the decoration is removed from the sanctuary. Flowers are not used on the altar. We sing no praise songs. Instead, we take time to reflect on what Christ has done for us despite the fact that we deserve none of it and, in fact, deserve quite the opposite. Yes, it is a good time to pause in our lives and give thanks to God for all that he has done for us.

I also have never celebrated Lent or alot of the other days. I have just recently become a Lutheran and ,to be honest, am seeing everything in a whole new light. I have been a christian for awhile but never really felt renewed like I do now.

For anyone interested in participating in fasting and/or abstinence during Lent particularly from a Lutheran perspective I highly recommend these articles from Qoheleth's church website.

The Church Fast
The Lenten Fast
The Tradition of Fasting
Fasting FAQ's

The penitential season of Lent, culminating in Easter Sunday is BY FAR my favorite season of the church year. I do find that my prayer life intensifies during this period.

One additional Lenten tradition I like to keep...I go to the sanctuary on Good Friday between noon and 3:00 pm and spend time there in prayer.

Peace

Rose

RevJoshua said:

I also have never celebrated Lent or alot of the other days. I have just recently become a Lutheran and ,to be honest, am seeing everything in a whole new light. I have been a christian for awhile but never really felt renewed like I do now.

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Hi Joshua and welcome to the forum. I think you will like the rest of us find Lent and Easter to be your most cherished time of the year. My favorite part is our Wed. night Lenten service and the reading of The Pashion history, and then of course Maunday Thursday and Good Friday and Easter.

Our church exchanges Pastors with 2 other WELS Lutheran churches in our area every year for lent, rotating every Pulpits every week. Last year we had the Pastor from Morenci who is now in Africa as a Missionary, and he presented His reading as we were actually there with Jesus through the whole thing. This was the first time I had ever seen this, and was truely beautiful and inspiring.

God's Blessings to you through this Lenten season.

Thank you for the welcome Jim. The church I attend is part of the LCMS. Do you know if there are any real diffrences between the Synods? Do we all worship and celebrate these days the same?

RevJoshua said:

I also have never celebrated Lent or alot of the other days. I have just recently become a Lutheran and ,to be honest, am seeing everything in a whole new light. I have been a christian for awhile but never really felt renewed like I do now.

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Joshua,

I left the Lutheran church for about 15 years and when I came back I wanted to get right back into the Lenten season. It was special to me and because many mainline protestant churches don't observe it I just didn't think about it. Many of those churches have a midweek program all year long anyways so Wednesdays weren't special because of that. Now that I am back I am enjoying the season even more and I have 2 girls (ages 8 and 5) that I will take with me. I look forward to sharing that with them.

Scott

What made you leave? If you don't mind me asking. I was in one of the mianline protestent churches and I had never heard of days like Epiphany, Maundy Thursday, Ascension, or Pentecost, etc. If I did hear them there must not of been much emphasis put around them.

RevJoshua said:

What made you leave? If you don't mind me asking. I was in one of the mianline protestent churches and I had never heard of days like Epiphany, Maundy Thursday, Ascension, or Pentecost, etc. If I did hear them there must not of been much emphasis put around them.

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American Evangelicalism wants nothing to do with the Catholic Church. They feel that most Catholics are idol worshippers so anything to do with that church including the Church calendar is not stressed at all by any of them. When I left I was a young single man and was influenced by Christian Contemporary music and wanted to be around people my own age. However, things i noticed that disturbed me were the few times per year that any of them had Holy Communion.

I was in a Covenant church and they had a "negotiable" stand on Baptism that I find almost reprehensible. They claim to be a combination of Swedish Lutheran and Baptist which are two almost diametrically opposing doctrinal positions. They leaned a lot more to Baptist than to Lutheran.

I came back because American Evangelicalism has many heretical teachings about how we are saved and sanctification.

RevJoshua said:

Thank you for the welcome Jim. The church I attend is part of the LCMS. Do you know if there are any real diffrences between the Synods? Do we all worship and celebrate these days the same?

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Hi Joshua!

I think Scott has already answered part of your question. Yes, there are some differences, but it has been a while since I have studied what they are. Many of the Lutheran churches are quite close in teachings I guess is the best way to describe it. I think you will enjoy the fellowship here, I know I have.

RevJoshua said:

Thank you for the welcome Jim. The church I attend is part of the LCMS. Do you know if there are any real diffrences between the Synods? Do we all worship and celebrate these days the same?

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The differences between the synods don't occur with the teachings of the church year. The church year is the same for every Lutheran church.

Advent
Christmas
Epiphany
Lent
Easter
Ascension
Petecost

Some churches may have remembrance days for the saints while others may not - that's just a choice of if they want to, and that is not a bit deal, either.

The differences in the synods occur over things like women pastors, the way of interpretation of the Bible, and open/close/closed communion (however, even some members of certain Lutheran churches aren't going to completely agree with the teachings of their own synod, but they attend that church because it is the closest match to their beliefs.)

Stein Auf!
Bridget