From the Rector

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome to Lent. No kidding. I say �no kidding� because not everyone thinks of Lent as a welcome experience. This is probably because for years, the focus of Lent was on self-denial, on �giving something up.� I know of a man who normally drinks about five cups of coffee a day. But each year he gives up coffee for the days of Lent. The first few days of Lent are miserable for him as he goes through caffeine withdrawal. Why would he say welcome to Lent? He does, though, because his devotion to God is real, and for him, giving up coffee helps him examine his commitment to Christ and meditate on the suffering and death of his Lord.

Acts of self-denial are appropriate when the sacrifice connects with Christian commitment. But there is another view of Lent: a time to prepare to celebrate the Resurrection. When we prepare to celebrate something, we often do housekeeping chores. If we are going to have a party at our house, we first spend some time cleaning the house. We lay in a supply of refreshments. We decorate. And when all is ready and the guests arrive, we celebrate. Preparing is never quite as much fun as celebrating, but it takes the preparation to make the celebration possible.

Lent is like that -- a time for spiritual housecleaning, a time to dust off our faith, shine up our commitment, lay in a supply of thanks and decorate our lives with the joy of the Christian life. Then, when Easter comes, we know in our hearts what the celebrating is all about. But, above all, Lent is a time of PRAYER! While it is easy to focus on sacrifices and giving things up, the REAL focus of Lent is to develop a closer relationship with God through PRAYER!. When you remove things that stand in your way of prayer, then you will know the true meaning of Lent, and why Jesus endured forty days of fasting in the first place. Welcome to Lent. No kidding.

With you in Christ,

Fr. Erich

All Faith Episcopal Church