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Moseley Chimes
March 2008
Before Easter comes Lent, a period of time set aside to take stock upon life, to prepare for the glorious resurrection, and to reflect upon where God is in our lives, and where God wants us to lead us. During Lent we therefore concentrate upon developing our spiritual and prayer lives, both individually and corporately. Archbishop Sentamu famously commented that he felt that the Church should have no business meetings during Lent, but instead should use the time for prayer instead.
This is a biblical model, for it was during the forty days in the wilderness that Jesus himself spent preparing himself for his ministry ahead (Mark 1:12-13). In the bible the number 40 is often used to represent times of reflection. The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness before they came into the promised land (Numbers 14:33), God made it rain for forty days and nights in the time of Noah (Genesis 7:4), and some people believe that Jesus was dead for forty hours in the tomb.
Lent is therefore a God given period of reflection to pray for God’s guidance for our lives, and to plan for God taking a lead in our futures. Given the often punishing work orientated culture that we live in, it seems that our world is crying out for such a period of reflection. Certainly world leaders have begun to realise the need to adopt a different approach to the current economic crisis, particularly as those who really suffer during a recession are those who are on the margins of society. During Lent, we should hold this situation in our prayers for many people live in a time of uncertainty, where their jobs, livelihood or even daily needs are becoming increasingly doubtful.
Lent is also an opportunity to reflect upon where we are heading together as a church at St Mary’s and St Anne’s. This month, there is an opportunity to reflect together as a community during our Lent Groups as to where God is leading us as a church. The five sessions, ‘God’s Vision for Us’, ‘Responding to God’s Generosity’, ‘How do we Share the Good News of Jesus?’, ‘Who Brought us to Faith’, ‘How do we Encourage Others?’, and ‘How do we Look after Each other?’ interact with our Vision Document to be a church which makes worship, discipleship, evangelism, hospitality and pastoral care priorities.
One note: evangelism is not about being evangelical, it is rather about communicating the Gospel to today’s world, and that can be the very earthy, hands on, and community approach that St Mary’s and St Anne’s are so good at. Evangelism can be subtle rather than in-your-face and it is best done in humility through our day to day lives. But above all Lent is an opportunity for prayer, and it is our opportunity to speak to God, and to listen to what God is trying to say to us, as we together pray for guidance in the future.