Saint Benedict Episcopal Church

Lent? It’s lent already? Where did the time go? The season of lent reminds me that I have been here at St. Benedicts for almost a year now. Wow, a year! And I look forward to seeing all of you and meeting some of you for the first time this Sunday at the Annual Meeting. 

But, lent means more than a year marker. Lent is a time when we dust off the spiritual mirror and look ourselves square in the face. Do we like what we see? Do we like what God sees? Do we even know what we are looking at or are we simply indifferent ?

Ash Wednesday is the 6th and it marks the beginning of our Lenten season. But, what does it really mean, or supposed to mean, to us? Lent is a big wake up call. We hear sermons about sin, repentance and forgiveness. Some of the most moving sermons of the year are here. It is our introduction to our forty days of fasting and a time of great emotion. We just celebrated the birth of Christ and all too quickly on our calendar we become sober with his mortal death.

It is during this time that we are “let in” or reminded about the greatest gifts God ever gave. We are shown what unconditional love and sacrifice are as we near Easter and hear of Jesus preparing himself for his earthly demise. We are given hope through the forgiveness of our sins and reminded that our God is ever merciful and loving.

We are told to call out our sins to the Lord and not to hold back, but to admit to our short comings and failures and with a true heart, seek forgiveness.

We all fall short from time to time, we all sin and submit to the easy thing rather than the right thing. We are no better or no worse than our brothers and sisters around us. Christian and non-Christian alike, we all sin. But, it is the admitting of and the repentance for these sins that we are called to bring before the Lord during this special time.

I think of what Jesus said to Peter in the Garden at Gethsemane “"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak", Matthew 26:41.

The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

I think of how Peter, an apostle, was weak and slept rather than praying for Jesus as he had asked while he prayed three times. It gives me comfort to know that I am not alone in my weakness; in my mortality.

When I look in my mirror I am saddened at the things I should have done better, times I should have pushed harder instead of giving up, believed in myself and most importantly, had more faith and acceptance in what God could and does do in my life.

I encourage all of you to take out your mirrors and ask God to help you as you reflect upon the past year and ask Him for His forgiveness.

May the Spirit fill you with the eyes to see the truth, the strength to ask for forgiveness and the heart to accept it.

We are dust and to dust we shall return, but through God’s love, grace and guidance we can learn to live our lives to the fullest, acknowledging our sinfulness and allowing God to transform our lives and through us, the lives of those around us.

He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses more; He who loses faith, loses all.- Irish blessing 

Though we may wonder and wander through our spiritual lives, know that we are never far from our Father as He is ever-present, ever-loving, ever-patient, forever our Father. May you feel His blessing this day and everyday till you meet again.

Peace and Blessing—Lacey O’