Lent is the liturgical season closely associated with Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes, “From dust you have come, to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Marked by prayer and penitence, it is a post-Epiphany fast associated with Christ’s forty days in the wilderness. During Lent, we turn toward the cross, meditating on Jesus’s final trip to Jerusalem and the self-giving nature of his love.
GENESIS 3:19
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until
you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
“Therefore I relent, and I find comfort in dust and ashes”
— Job 42:6
Questions of Reflection:
Have you ever thought about your mortality? What was that like? What is that like?
How would you describe dirt? Does Ash Wednesday change that description at all?
Can you find comfort in the ground?
Questions of Reflection:
What does it mean to you that Jesus’ first word from the cross was forgiveness?
Why is it hard for you to forgive?
Who needs forgiveness in your life?
LUKE 23:32-34
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
“He forgives them. He forgives us.”
LUKE 23:39-43
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
Questions of Reflection:
To what are you a prisoner? Your job? Your ego? Your reputation? Greed?
Have you ever prayed for those in prison? What would that be like?
What does Jesus’ promise of paradise mean to you? Jesus doesn’t say tomorrow or sometime in the future when we’re off of these awful painful crosses. He says today. What does paradise look like for you, today?
“If the first word was forgiveness, the second must be grace.”
JOHN 19:25-27
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Questions of Reflection:
What does your baptism mean to you?
How can you foster this family? Especially now,When we miss each other?
Who acted like family to you? Have you thanked them?
“Jesus’ death did not end This family, it actually only began it. It is a family that we are welcomed into.”
MARK 15:33-39
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
Questions for Reflection
Have you ever felt abandoned by your friends, family, or someone you love?
Where have you felt forsaken?
Have you ever given yourself the chance to lament to God?
How does this word speak to the nature of Jesus?
What does it reveal about Jesus?
“Jesus gives us permission to be honest with God”
John 19:28-29
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth
Questions for Reflection
What is it that you thirst for? What do you desire? Have you ever named that?
How can we practice more empathy for those who thirst for basic human needs?
What does it mean to you that Jesus thirsts? Does it discount his role as savior or complicate it in some beautiful way?
“Jesus’ cry from the cross is one of solidarity—solidarity in whatever it is that we thirst for”
JOHN 19:30
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Questions for Reflection
Think about a difficult transition in your life. What got you through it?
What finished for you this past year? How does that feel now?
Is there anything that needs to be finished for you?
“‘It is finished’ is an invitation to move forward.”
— Will Willimon