I invite you therefore, in the name of the Lord,

to observe a holy Lent

by self-examination, penitence, prayer,

fasting, and almsgiving,

and by READING and MEDITATING on the WORD OF GOD.

(Exhortation from Ash Wednesday Service, BAS pg.282)

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

Ever since I first heard this snippet from the prophet Ezekiel, it has stuck with me. The image, of a hard heart yearning, needing to become soft, and fleshy and vulnerable, just wouldn’t leave me alone. It got to a point that I decided I needed to put it to music, and so, with help from a friend, I did. It is this little piece that we will sing as a gradual throughout the Lenten season, that will prepare us to hear the gospel every Sunday. 

The Scriptures can be like that sometimes; they can inspire us, disturb us, move us, trouble us, and stick with us. It is one of the ways, Christians believe, that God speaks to us, through these old stories, letters, and poems, from our spiritual ancestors. 

In Lent, we are especially invited into a time of reading and meditation on our Sacred Texts, to see where God might be speaking to us through them.

How will you practice this discipline this Lenten season?  

Maybe, during Lent, you can read ahead to prepare for the upcoming Sunday. Maybe you can pay special attention for words or images that speak to you on Sunday, and reflect on them throughout the week. Maybe you can set aside a book of the Bible that you will read slowly, carefully, and prayerfully over the coming weeks. 

I invite you into this practice, and pray that spending time with the Scriptures may be nourishing and transformative for you. I pray that your hearts may be soft and warm, vulnerable, fleshy and open, to whatever God might be speaking to you through them.   

Thanks be to God!

 

CG+