Greetings in the name of the one who goes to death on the cross, Jesus the Christ.
As we journey toward and in the season of Lent, our focus may change into returning to the Lord our God and rightly so. We hope. However, does that mean what we say and do change? Maybe not. As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, what He did never changed. He still taught, healed, preached, ate, slept, argued with the Pharisees, etc. The events and contacts may be more intense, more depth, more gravitas, but were still all the things Jesus did before the mount of Transfiguration.
When we are transformed by the gospel and the grace found in Christ, what changes is US, not necessarily what we do. We still get up, go about our daily life, see the people we encounter, do what we do. What changes by grace is HOW we view the world and the people in it. When we look at others with the same grace that is shown to us, this is the change Jesus makes in grace. I’m amazed that grace is shown in ways I never wanted or expected. In hindsight, grace comes exactly when I needed grace to be known. As I continue to realize how expansive grace is, I am changed by it and see grace at work more and more.
Lent is always viewed alongside the cross, and it should be. Life and death are apart of who we are as people in this world. Grace is also a part of who we are as people in this world. Seasons come and seasons go, grace never completely goes away. A season of life may not allow us to experience grace easily, what life and actions bring to us often get in the way of knowing grace. Lent is one of those church seasons to invite us to step back from our own circumstances to know how Christ is at work so we can realize how much grace is a part of our lives.
Here is a way grace comes unexpected; in December, a Korean Presbyterian group came to us wondering if there was space at Zion so they could worship outside of a house church setting. After many conversations and delays outside of anyone’s control, they will begin to use the Junior Chapel for worship beginning at 11:30am as of March 9. I hope you would welcome them as a partner in mission and ministry as the PCUSA is a full communion partner of the ELCA.
Let us be aware this season of the ways grace comes unexpectedly. Have grace change not what we do, but how we view each other. Continue to know that life does indeed come from death, Lent is proof of this. May God continue to bless you as you experience death and see life unfold. Pastor Chris