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By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. - John 13:35


Six More Weeks of Winter?

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?  According to tradition, if he does, we will have six more weeks of winter.  Of course, states other than Pennsylvania have their own favorite meteorologist-rodents who may well have their own predictions.  Regardless, all we have to do is look at a calendar to realize that winter will end in late March whatever the weather may be.

For us Christians, Spring comes a bit earlier.  All you have to do is look at the calendar to discover that Ash Wednesday will be upon us soon—February 17th, to be exact—and we will enter into the liturgical season we call Lent.  What does this have to do with Spring, you may ask?  Well, the word “lent” is derived from Old English and means “spring.”  Here in the northern hemisphere, our liturgical calendar dovetails nicely with the natural world.  The gradual peeking through of bulbs and greening of the grass can reinforce the image of Lent as a time of intentional growth—that is, spiritual growth.  Lent was long a time of catechesis, of preparing new Christians for baptism and full entry into the community.  The “disciplines” of Lent—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—are ancient ways of intentionally entering more fully into the mystery of the faith:  Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  Lent calls us all to renewed commitment to allowing the faith to form a pattern for our living.

Lutherans can become uncomfortable with the topic of spiritual growth.  So precious is the Good News that we are saved solely and completely through the grace of God, and NOT by any action of our own, we fear obscuring that surpassing gift.  We fear that, by emphasizing disciplines or practices, we risk nurturing the misguided thought that our behavior is what saves us.  In this fear, Lutherans can forget that biblically-mandated and time-tested Christian practices are a precious gift from God—not as means to “earn” God’s love, but as healthy and priority-forming ways of ordering our lives.  Adopting and growing in Christian practices free us and focus us and help us to reach out to others in Jesus’ name.

This year at Nativity, Lent will be a time for us to reflect on and learn about those spiritual practices that form us as individual Christians and as a community.  Various authors though the ages have come up with different numbers of practices and different descriptions, but they are all basically the same.  For this article, I will use the language of the “six marks of discipleship” described in various publications by Pastor Michael Foss.  They are: daily prayer, weekly worship, daily Bible reading, serving in the congregation and beyond, nurturing relationships, and generous giving/giving a tithe and beyond.  These spiritual practices are not benchmarks by which to judge ourselves or others, but gifts from God meant to enrich and order our lives as followers of Jesus.  These are patterns and practices we strive toward, always remembering that the Christian life is a journey, “a becoming,” and that God continues to work in and through us in both mundane and surprising ways.  As Martin Luther once wrote:

This life is not godliness, but growth in godliness; not health, but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest; but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way; the process is not yet finished, but it has begun; this is not the goal, but it is road; at present all does not gleam and glitter, but everything is purified.

Together at Nativity in the weeks ahead, we will explore and enrich our understanding of the core spiritual practices of Christian people and communities.  We will both challenge and encourage one another as we seek to live what Pastor Foss calls Real Faith for Real Life.  We will, as always, journey together with Jesus.

Happy Spring!

Pastor Jill

 

     
552 Ryders Lane, East Brunswick, NJ  08816  Phone: (732) 257-7745 Fax: (732) 257-0523