A Portrait of the Season

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who live in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

Family,

One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Galatians 2:20, 

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who live in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

This verse helps us as we enter the season of Lent next week. During this forty-day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter (not counting Sundays), we are reminded of and re-initiated into the essence of our faith. We belong to Christ as those who have been crucified with him. But just as he was raised to life, so are we! 

When we looked at the Sermon on a Level Place in Luke 6, we heard Jesus describe his disciples as blessed in our status as poor, hungry, weeping and hated. The sacrifice we make during Lent helps us to engage this status in practice as we live by faith in our Lord and his provision. Therefore, family, Lent leads us to joy.

We will mark the beginning of Lent together on Wednesday, February 18 with our Ash Wednesday service at 7 AM in the sanctuary. Before we fast, however, we will feast! Join us on Tuesday evening, February 17 at 6 PM for our Fat Tuesday Feast.

May our Lord be pleased to bless us with a robust experience of his love and grace during Lent as we walk with Jesus.

We have a host of resources and practices for Lent that you are invited to explore on our journey together!

Grace,

Pastor Irwyn

Practices for the Season

The Church has long used Lent as a time to intensify the regular practices of the faith: prayer, fasting, generosity, and repentant acts of love for others. Consider establishing and nurturing meaningful rituals such as these in the life of your home this Lent. Feel free to use your imagination!

• PRAYER. Use the season of Lent as a time to renew and reimagine rhythms of prayer in your life and in the life of your household. Consider establishing a steady rhythm of 20-30 minutes of prayer each morning and evening.
  • Corporate Prayer during Lent: Join our midweek Lenten prayer on Wednesdays at 8:30 am, in person and on Zoom, starting on February 25th.
  • Practice Lectio Divina (or “Abiding”): Want to know more? Read our article “Abiding” to explore this time-tested way of praying with the word of God.
• FASTING. Fasting, at its core, is the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time to devote oneself to feasting on God’s presence in prayer. Through fasting we come to terms with the weakness and humility of our condition and place ourselves in solidarity with those who hunger and thirst in our world. In the Christian Year, we feast and we fast, and then we feast again! The fast prepares us for the feast.
  • Corporate Fasting during Lent. During Lent, we invite the whole community to select a pattern of days/times/meals to fast throughout the week for the duration of Lent. Read our article “Fasting Before The Feast” to orient yourself to the practice and explore ways to implement it during this season.
• ALMSGIVING. Give your money, food, possessions, and time away. Take the money that you would often spend on yourself and give it to the poor. Choose to deny yourself and find the freedom of simplicity. Read our article “People of the Gift” to explore this practice more deeply. The article was written for the Christmas season but almsgiving is a perennial discipline of Christian spirituality.
• SERVICE. Read John 13:1-20. Take on the form of a servant to meet the needs of your neighbors, church family, and household. Serve joyfully in the name of Christ while imitating him. Consider instituting consistent rhythms of service during this Lenten season.

Schedule for the Season

LENT & HOLY WEEK SERVICES

ASH WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, February 18th, 7 am
Grace Mosaic

PALM SUNDAY
Sunday, March 29th, 9:30 am
Grace Mosaic

MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE
Thursday, April 2nd, 7 pm
Grace Meridian Hill

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE
Friday, April 3rd, 7 pm
Grace Mosaic

EASTER SUNDAY
Sunday, April 5th, 9:30 am
Grace Mosaic

Music for the Season

Resources for the Season

Blogs

Read: Giving Up Shame For Lent by Chuck Degroat

“Lent is not a season of trying harder. Lent is a season of rest and return – a return to the goodness of the earth, the ground, that humble place out of which you might recover your heart and rediscover joy.”

Watch: Flemming Rutledge on ‘The Crucifixion’

Flemming Rutledge has written one of the most important books on the Crucifixion in modern times. If you are looking for a wonderful lecture to summarize that work, we recommend this one. It is full of passion, intellect, and Rutledge’s characteristic charm. The Cross is the Crux of the Christian faith. Listen and be in awe and wonder again at the passion of our Lord.

Read: The Origins of Lent by Rev. Dr. Tim Lecroy

Rev. Dr. Tim Lecroy, a doctor of Church History, discusses the historical origins of Lent and Ash Wednesday. If you are looking for a deeper explanation of the history and theology of the Lenten season, then dig into these resources!

Books

Lent by Esau McCaulley [Highly recommended new book!]

“Lent is inescapably about repenting.” Every year, the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week. It’s an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ.

Often, though, we experience the Lenten fast as either a mindless ritual or self-improvement program. In this short volume, priest and scholar Esau McCaulley introduces the season of Lent, showing us how its prayers and rituals point us not just to our own sinfulness but also beyond it to our merciful Savior.

Practicing The Way by John Mark Comer

“We are constantly being formed by the world around us. To be formed by Jesus will require us to become his apprentice.

To live by what the first Christian disciples called a Rule of Life—a set of practices and relational rhythms that slow us down and open up space in our daily lives for God to do what only God can do—transforms the deepest parts of us to become like him.

This introduction to spiritual formation is full of John Mark Comer’s trademark mix of theological substance and cultural insight as well as practical wisdom on developing your own Rule of Life.

These ancient practices have much to offer us. By learning to rearrange our days, we can follow the Way of Jesus. We can be with him. Become like him. And do as he did.”

Also, check out Comer’s Project of the same name here. We will begin to utilize this material in our own life of formation at Mosaic within the coming year.

The Crucifixion by Flemming Rutledge

“Though the apostle Paul boldly proclaimed “Christ crucified” as the heart of the gospel, Fleming Rutledge notes that preaching about the cross of Christ is remarkably neglected in most churches today. In this book Rutledge addresses the issues and controversies that have caused pastors to speak of the cross only in the most general, bland terms, precluding a full understanding and embrace of the gospel by their congregations.”

Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter by Various Authors

A wonderful collection of literary and theological writings on the themes of the Lenten season.

Resources for Families with Young Children

The Apostles Creed: For All God’s Children by Ben Myers, Ill. Natasha Kennedy

Historically, Lent was a period where newcomers to the faith would be instructed through the use of the Apostles’ Creed. This is a great children’s book adaptation of the creed!

Illustrated Ministries Lent Material

Illustrated Ministries creates coloring and craft materials for children and families for use during each season of the Christian Year. The material is lovely and cross-culturally accessible.

Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss

“As she did in All Creation Waits, Gayle Boss along with illustrator David G. Klein invite the reader into the wild world of creation. Whether or not one observes the liturgical season of Lent, one cannot help but be touched and inspired by this work to take the stewardship of creation more seriously. As Boss says, “The promise of Lent is that something will be born of the ruin, something so astoundingly better than the present moment we cannot imagine it.” Who among us does not want to live into that wild hope?”