1st Day of Lent - Ash Wednesday

Once again we are staring down the Lenten season. For several years I have tried to blog every day of Lent and have had only moderate success. Ash Wednesday provides the opportunity for us to focus our Lenten time. Each year in our faith community, Zoe, we not only agree as individuals to give up (fast) something for Lent, but we also agree to take on something that will help us to grow closer to The Christ. I would urge each of you to consider adopting this idea.

Ash Wednesday is a day of confession and repentance. Whether or not you choose to participate in Ash Wednesday or Lent I would urge you to at least stop and consider confession and repentance. In our tradition, the Church of the Nazarene, we have often shied away from the idea of continual confession and repentance. This, no doubt, has to do with a, somewhat, incorrect understanding of "Christian Perfection". We have come a long way in our understanding of sanctification, but still there is a reticence to confess and repent. Perhaps it would be beneficial to remember that John Wesley, whom we often cite, continued to repent even after his "heart-warming" experience. We would affirm that when a disciple is filled with the Spirit they do not have to sin, and could, in fact, choose to never intentionally sin again. However, as 21st century disciples, we often "sin" corporately. For example, how many of us really worked to stop the genocide in Darfur? Do we tirelessly demand that everyone in the world have clean drinking water? My point is simply this: Even the most spiritually disciplined disciple, filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing Jesus to flow through his/her life, is not so "perfect" that they should never stop to reflect on the brokenness of the world, and their part in it. Even if you would disagree with me, you would at least acknowledge that what Christ did for us, not only on the cross, but also during the Wilderness Temptation is worth remembering.

PEACE