Return

    As I write this, it is the beginning of Lent. Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of a forty-day season of reflection and renewal. It lasts for (duh!) forty days, from Ash Wednesday until Easter, but does not include Sundays in the counting. (Don't ask me why, I'll just tell you to google it, which is what I would probably do, anyway.)

    The irony of Ash Wednesday falling as it did today is that we, in South Texas (Corpus Christi to be precise), are in the midst of a once-in-a-blue-moon-type of deep freeze that has just about shut down the state of Texas, let alone the city. As I write this, on my laptop, I have about 65% battery left. We've been without power here for over 32 hours.) So, as my beautiful wife quipped this morning, "Maybe God is telling us to give up more than just electricity for Lent this year!" 

    And that got me thinking. Maybe she's right.

    What if God is trying to get our attention in a strange and unique way? For the first time in my three-decades-plus ministry, I've had to cancel Ash Wednesday services. No electricity, below freezing temperatures, low water pressure, and slippery roads made for a fairly easy decision this morning. 

    Still, maybe there's something more afoot here.

    Upon hearing Lisa's statement, my mind immediately went to something deeper - which I truly believe was her intent. Maybe we are supposed to think about Lent differently this year. A global pandemic has drawn the faithful into our own homes, socially distanced from one another, and has left us without many of the familiar comforts of Church life in community. As a result, many have begun to mourn the loss of that community, and have fallen on hard times in their faith.

    But what seems to be heard (at least to my ears) has been more of a lament in what used to be. The experience of Church was in a building, singing hymns or songs of worship, hearing a sermon, keeping up with one another, and, of course, coffee and donuts or cookies. It's the social aspect that many have been missing - which is well and good, if that is only a small part of your worship life. But for so many, it appears to me that this is the most important thing that we've been missing.

    "Maybe God is telling us to give up more than just electricity for Lent this year."

    Maybe.

    Perhaps God is inviting us to return. Not just to church, to the social aspect of what we've come to know as church. But to something deeper. More profound.

    And instantly my mind found a quote from the Old Testament - "Rend your hearts, not just your garments." 

    From the prophet Joel chapter 2 (I admit, I had to look it up!), we find these words:

"Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near...

"Yet, even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing." (Joel 2:1, 12-13 NRSV)

    What if God is trying to get us out of our superficial, surface-level religiousity, and calling us to a deeper, more powerful relationship? What if all our shallow "I've-given-up-my-$6-a-cup-designer-coffee-for-Lent" attempts at being sacrificial just aren't enough? What if it really isn't about denying our indulgences that God is seeking from us, but rather, an honest, truly exposed, deep commitment to become vulnerable to God? What if what God really wants from us is for our hearts to be rent - torn open - to reveal our deepest sins, our greatest vulnerabilities, our honest dependence upon God and God alone? What if God wants us - from our most inward parts - rather than us just "going through the motions?

    "Return to me with all your heart...rend your hearts and not your clothing." "I want your heart, not your outward religious superficialities." 

    "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast." 

    Maybe its time we took our faith more seriously. It isn't about comfort, ease, or simply giving up something that is more luxury than sacrifice. It is about giving your heart to God. This is what God says truly sanctifies us.

    May your heart be opened to God this Lenten season. And may you truly take the time to return to God. Spend time in prayer - just listening for what God would say to you is truly important. You will be quite surprised in what you hear.

    See you in Church!

    Pastor Brad