Lenten Spring

Clark Greenwood Voorhees, "Landscape, Early Spring"

Psalm 32

For Sunday, March 13, 2011

First Sunday in Lent

If you live in northern climes like here in Wisconsin this can be a hard time of year.  The snow is old, the sky is gray, and both seem to pull downward on one's soul.  We so long for spring to burst forth.  

Western culture can feel much the same way.  Television seems to love to fixate on what is old and gray.  Where are the marks of joy, much less the sublime?  Not here.  Sure, there are the clever Google dioramas that appear periodically on that well-worn home page, but sublime?  No.  

Where then to go?  I can think of no better place than the readings of the Revised Common Lectionary.  As I write this morning I am listening to Gwilym Simcock's "Blues Vignette".  This music sings the song of the longing of my soul this morning.  

As we move today from the lectionary season of Epiphany to Lent, recognize that the Lenten Spring is upon us.  "Spring" is what the word 'Lent' actually means.  The original Latin term was 'quadragesima', which meant "fourtieth day".    Quadragesima was in turn a translation of the original Greek term 'tessarakoste' (εσσαρακοστή).  The idea was to mark the fourtieth day before Easter and to count down from there (1). 

As believers, our faith comprises the very core of our beings around which all else turns.  This is at it should be.  At the center of this core is the death and resurrection of our Lord, the place from which the power of Lenten Spring bursts forth with the rising of the sun in the warming and lengthening of the days.   

What then to do to overcome the gray? Strip away the dead wood to make space for new growth.  How practically might this be done?  Over the centuries believers have identified three key practices.  The first is prayer, in which we celebrate justice toward God.  The second is fasting, in which we seek justice toward self.  The third is almsgiving, in which we seek justice toward our neighbors.  What if this Spring the church worldwide sought justice toward God, justice toward self, and justice toward our neighbors (2)?  A joyous spring indeed this would be.  

So then, to what prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is the Spirit of God drawing your heart today?  Rejoice: these are the marks of Lenten Spring bursting forth.

"While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. . . Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin. . .   Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.  Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." 

(Psalm 32, selected)

Transfiguration Sunday

Bellini, "Transfiguration of the Christ"

2 Kings 2:1-12
For Sunday, February 22, 2009
Transfiguration Sunday

This coming Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before Lent begins. The purpose of Transfiguration Sunday is to prepare the church for the rigors of Lent by focusing attention on the holiness of Jesus Christ as revealed in his transfiguration. Lent is the forty day period prior to Easter Sunday when the church focuses on the sufferings of Jesus. Lent is a journey to the cross and then past the cross to an empty tomb.

When I was a kid I always thought Lent was a little strange. It sounded so much like lint. At the same time, my parents seemed to think it was a time to get one's spiritual lint out.

Where does the name 'Lent' come from? The short answer is that it was a lot easier to say than the alternatives. As Wikipedia notes:

In the English language, Lent was formerly referred to by the Latin term quadragesima (translation of the original Greek tessarakoste, the "fortieth day" before Easter). This nomenclature is preserved in Romance, Slavic and Celtic languages (for example, Spanish cuaresma, Portuguese quaresma, French carême, Italian quaresima, Croatian korizma, Irish Carghas, and Welsh C(a)rawys).

In the late Middle Ages, as sermons began to be given in the vernacular instead of Latin, the English word lent was adopted. This word initially simply meant spring and derives from the Germanic root for long because in the spring the days visibly lengthen.

With this bit of lint out of the way, let's return to Transfiguration Sunday. It is fitting that the first reading for Transfiguration Sunday should feature Elijah, for he along with Moses appeared next to Jesus at the Transfiguration.

There is a thread of God's redemptive purpose that runs from Moses through Elijah and on to Jesus. First, there are many similarities between Moses and Elijah (Expositor's Bible Commentary). Both men received revelations from God on Mt. Horeb. Both crossed a body of water from west to east (Moses the Red Sea and Elijah the Jordan. Both exercised profound leadership that was then inherited by worthy subordinates (Joshua and Elisha). Both had lives that ended on earth in mysterious circumstances. H. H. Rowley said, “Without Moses the religion of Yahweh . . . would never have been born. Without Elijah it would have died.”

There is then a clear connection between Elijah and Jesus. The Prophet Malachi predicted that Elijah would return before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Jesus then completed the link by indicating that the ministry of John the Baptist fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy.

One take away for me is to follow the example of Elisha, who also appears in this chapter. Elisha found a man of God, and followed him, to the point of refusing to leave. As an aspiring man of God, I am acutely aware of my need for greater men to serve as models of the faith.