With its emphasis on actions we can take during Lent; prayer, fasting and acts of charity, there is the temptation to think that the season is all about us. Well, I know, that you know, that that is not the case. It is all about Jesus. Yes, we are on this journey with him, but the work of salvation does not fall upon our shoulders (thank goodness) but upon the shoulders, hands, feet and side of Jesus.
Sticking with our theme of gospel hope, we are reminded over and over again that our hope is not misplaced. It is with Jesus. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…” says the hymn. The reference to the blood of Christ is the manner by which Jesus has made peace with the world. In his suffering love, Jesus has dealt with the power of death, and sent it packing.
Because of this, as Dr. Walter Brueggemann writes, “…we now who are baptized are welcome into his company and his work to be peacemakers in hard places, to refuse the way of anger and fear and hate and resentment, in order to enact a world of gratitude, generosity, and forgiveness.”
I invite you to dig deeper into the good news of Jesus in our worship during Lent; on Sunday and on Wednesday. Together we shall learn and sense the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Clifton D. Eshbach,
Pastor