Spiritual Home
Topics:
Lent Easter Pentecost Christmas Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion Story of Stone Soup
I discovered this quotation on the internet about Lent which begins this year on 6th February:
"Lent, those days before Easter that commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent out in the wilderness before his ministry began, invites us to contemplate our own Christian journey and consider the disciplines we need to become the people God intends us to become."
Some people will choose to give something up for Lent, others perhaps might decide to take up something positive that they wouldn’t usually do. But this quotation reminds me of the central purpose of Lent: for us to examine our lives and ask the questions we don’t always think about – who we are, how we live, and how we can become more like the person that God wants and intends us to be.
This may seem inward looking, but that is not a bad thing! Of course it should not remain introspective but should be a challenge to us to put what we learn into practice. I am sure that prayer and action go together; they certainly aren’t opposites. God engages with us in prayer so that we can be strengthened and prompted to live out our faith in our everyday lives.
You still may choose to give up chocolate or take up more exercise for Lent. Please also take time to stop and reflect, to consider the fact that God invites you to join with him on a wonderful journey of discovery as each of us learns more about who we are, and about how, despite our failings, God still chooses us to be his companions, and also companions to each other as part of the people of God.
Kevin
One sign of the approach of Easter is the rows and rows of Easter eggs in the shops. As someone who enjoys chocolate this is a very tempting sight. However with my accountant’s head on I have of course worked out that you get far more chocolate for your money if you simply buy a bar, than if you buy a highly packaged Easter egg! Nowadays you can buy fairly traded chocolate eggs as well as the usual bars, so there is the possibility of feeling less guilty about self-indulgence with the knowledge that the cocoa bean growers are getting a fairer share of the money we pay.
Other signs may include hot cross buns in the shops and spring flowers in gardens, parks and on grass verges. As the people of God we can enjoy all of these things, but perhaps we should also hear a challenge at the same time. Surely people should be also able to see signs of Easter in us. And this shouldn’t be limited to this time of year either. Easter is the time when we celebrate the central message of the Christian faith and this should affect the way we are all the year round. If we are followers of Jesus Christ what does Easter teach us about the way we should follow Jesus Christ?
I am going to suggest three ways (and you may well think of others):
Easter is about Sacrifice. In a world where individualism and selfishness seem to dictate so many of the choices people make, followers of Jesus Christ shouldn’t take the easy comfortable route, but instead choose the way that helps others even if it is difficult.
Easter is about Love. In a world where “love” is a throw-away word that seems to stand for very little that is lasting and faithful, followers of Jesus Christ should demonstrate a love for others that is loyal, determined and ready to take all the knocks.
Easter is about Life. In a world where life often seems to be cheap and human beings are exploited by those with power in so many different ways, followers of Jesus Christ should value others, no matter who they are, and help them to live their lives to the full.
Jesus demonstrated his love, his sacrifice and lived his life in such a way that those who didn’t or wouldn’t understand decided they had to stop him. However not even his death on the cross could end the love or the life that was in him, and we are given hope because of Easter Day.
Kevin
Pentecost is the celebration of the Church's birthday on the 50th day after Easter The more traditional name in this country has been Whitsun – “White Sunday” because, it seems, of the custom of people being baptised on Whit Sunday dressed in white.
Pentecost is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecy from Joel. Peter quoted the prophet when he stood up to speak to the crowd at Pentecost: “This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.” (Acts 2:17&18)
The question for us is this: are we prepared to receive the Spirit? In other words are we prepared to let God into our everyday lives: for his Spirit to be part of out thoughts and our actions? Are we prepared to get our strength and our direction from God?
The alternative is to do things our own way, and to cope with things by ourselves. Many people do this all the time. All of us do it at some time or other. This Pentecost is a good time to allow God's Spirit further into your life: to give God a bit more space in your life, and a bit more attention too!
And as we allow God’s Holy Spirit more space in our lives we will be able to proclaim God's message of love with more enthusiasm, more power and more conviction.
Kevin
I’m a bit undecided about whether I like Christmas or not. I do enjoy the carol services, the way that the lights make a dark and cold time of year look more cheerful, and I quite like all the wonderful food! I’m not sure I enjoy crowded shops, trying to write hundreds of Christmas cards (without forgetting anyone) or as a minister trying to be in three places all at once! I also recognise that for many people Christmas can be a difficult time because of family circumstances especially when you have lost a loved one. However I am certainly not proposing that we go back to the days when Parliament actually abolished Christmas in this country back in 1645 (during the English Civil War).
Actually they didn’t abolish it because they weren’t people of faith. Quite the contrary: those were days when the Puritans were very much in charge of Parliament – their objection was that Jesus wasn’t born on 25th December, they thought having “holy days” was superstitious, and they didn’t like all the drinking and making merry that went with Christmas festivities (something that some still complain about today). Actually many people ignored the fact that Christmas had been abolished and it was re-instated in 1660 when the Monarchy was restored with the return of Charles II.
We haven’t got any more chance of abolishing Christmas in this country today (even if we wanted to). Christmas will happen with or without the Church! We have the responsibility of reminding people that the celebrations have a reason. That there is a message of love and hope for everyone, especially for those who are feeling lost at this time of year. That God sent Jesus Christ to be our Saviour, because we need to be rescued. If you have never felt like you needed some help then perhaps you don’t need a Saviour. Those of us who sometimes struggle with what life brings know that we need a God who is real and can give us hope and strength to face up to the challenges that come our way. Someone called Paul Wilson wrote (cleverly) “if you take Christ out of Christmas all you are left with is M&S”. Thank God for Christmas and let us celebrate the real reason for all the festivities.
Kevin