The Lent Lily The Lent Lily - A.E. Housman Tis spring; come out to ramble The hilly brakes around, For under thorn and bramble About the hollow ground The primroses are found. And there's the windflower chilly With all the winds at play, And there's the Lenten lily That has not long to stay And dies on Easter day. And since till girls go maying You find the primrose still, And find the windflower playing With every wind at will, But not the daffodil, Bring baskets now, and sally Upon the spring's array, And bear from hill and valley The daffodil away That dies on Easter day A.E. Housman

trees

The Moravian Daily Text New Testament reading assigned for today is Matthew 27. It is the distressing account of Judas' suicide. As Lent is long into the season now we might find this a dark time. We dwell on our sinfulness, the desperate condition of a fallen world and all of its brokenness and perhaps we lose heart. Judas made a heartbreaking decision. He chose the wrong tree. There was forgiveness ready for him at the tree on which his Saviour was crucified and yet he chose to hang on the tree of his own guilt and condemnation. Either tree would do.

On which tree do I hang my failures, my sins, my desperation? Am I still visiting trees to hang what has already been judged, condemned and sentenced on the tree upon which my Saviour died and I with Him? "When I survey the wondrous cross."

"do you believe this?"

Lazarus' tomb in Bethany

"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

So Jesus asked Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. They answered yes, but their eyes probably  betrayed a distressed question like "what good is that now?" As our Lenten meditation this day let's allow Jesus to ask us the same question "Do you believe this?" But let's do the hard work ourselves of asking and answering the question "what good is that now?" Because it is really good now! As Lent has brought us to sadness and hopelessness, so it leads us to the cross and empty grave where Jesus declares "I am the resurrection and the life!" That changes everything - now and forever. Does it?

waiting

The two Christian seasons of Advent and Lent are marked by a sense of waiting. And today as we look out upon a grey, rainy day, in which the water is running and pooling and maybe washing away the last of this long winter's snow we are waiting for summer! We are longing for warmth. And in Lent we are waiting for Easter. We are longing for life. But waiting is good for us. "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield." (Psalm 33.20) In 2014 we don't wait well. We are going too fast, we feel that it's urgent, we can't put it off (whatever it is.) But when we simply can't move our circumstances any faster, when we are stuck, when we are helpless and finally succumb to the waiting, there can come a strange and holy quiet. This is a better thing than reluctant resignation, although that may have to be the starting point. It is an opportunity to reflect, to be grateful, to describe the hope of our waiting to our soul. And to rest there.

works of charity

Peter Brueghel, the Younger (1564-1638), Works of Charity.

Lent reminds us of our frailty. Lent reminds us of one anothers' frailty. And we join together in our weakness to hope together towards the strong Kingdom of God in which our frailty is but a distant memory. I love the idea of C.S. Lewis of the heaviness of our future existence. We will be vividly strong and present to one another. But for now we need to bear one another up and supply whatever strength we possess to one another. Acts of charity are characteristic of Lent. Notice one another. Care for one another. Practice random acts of kindness towards one another that we may celebrate the Kingdom's heaviness in advance. What might I do? For whom might I care? Who is in my circumstances, frail? Ideas?

Mahima

Lent is the calendar season during which we look for the arrival of God's future in our present. It is the time of longing for His Kingdom to come. In our world there are "thin places," places where heaven touches earth and the Kingdom arrives in splendour. Among these are the Mahima After Care homes in Kolkata, India. Smita Singh leads  a  powerful ministry there to the rescued human trafficked young women from the brothels of that teeming city. Restoring these beautiful children psychologically, spiritually, physically and socially along with assisting them in seeking justice against their perpetrators Smita dramatically answers the question that we as a church seek to persist in: "What would it look like if God's future arrived in these girls' present?" She can simply say "like this!" Smita will once again visit us at Southside this coming Sunday to bring us news of her girls and her co-workers. 

song for Lent

He has formed me from the dust and to dust I shall return… but then! Does anyone remember the 2nd Chapter of Acts? Paste this address into your browser above and enjoy!

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=2nd+Chapter+of+Acts+He+Has+Formed+Me