Our Lenten Journey

First Sunday in Lent (Year A)

Matthew 4.1-11

The Rev. Michael K. Fincher

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 19:20)

 

Here we are – the first Sunday in Lent. And we find ourselves, with Jesus, in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. A time of fasting. A time of prayer. A time of testing and being tempted. All leading up to the most intense and significant week in the liturgical calendar: Holy Week. All in preparation for the what immediately follows: Easter.

 

Our annual forty-day Lenten journey—at least, after we get through Ash Wednesday and make it to the first Sunday in Lent—always begins with recounting the story of Jesus’ own forty-day wilderness experience. A way of setting the stage and providing insight into what this unique season is all about. Because, when you think about it, of all the liturgical feasts and seasons, Lent is unlike any other. Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Pentecost and the season following, and all the feast days contained therein are remembrances and celebrations of key events in our Christian tradition. Lent—Holy Week notwithstanding—is the only season that has a more inward focus. A time of intentional, personal preparation, for what comes at the end of the season. As we travel with Jesus to Jerusalem. As we prepare ourselves for witnessing his Passion. As we prepare ourselves for the joys of the Resurrection. The only other liturgical season remotely preparatory is Advent, but even then, the focus is more on communal anticipation and less on personal preparation. So, yeah, Lent is a unique time in the life of the Church, and particularly in the lives of the members of the Body of Christ, unlike any other. A time that should be treated as such and not allowed to drift by as if it were just another season on the liturgical calendar.

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Collapsing of Space and Time

Last Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A)

Matthew 17.1-9

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:25)

 

As we approach the end of this season after Epiphany and prepare to begin our Lenten journey, we have the familiar story of Jesus’ Transfiguration. A divinely choreographed collapsing of space and time that almost seems to spring from the mind of a science fiction writer. An event containing imagery and symbolism that could form the foundation for a fantastical journey through space and time. Which, when you think about it, it succeeds in doing. In ways beyond what three of the characters, Peter, James, and John, could possibly imagine. In ways that form the foundation, not of a sci-fi novel or movie, but form the foundation of our Christian faith.

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The Spirit of the Law

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A)

Deuteronomy 30.15-20; Matthew 5.21-37

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:45)

 

Today we continue our look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. At the end of the portion we heard last week, Jesus says two things regarding the Law. The first is “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill (Mt 5.17). Emphasizing that what he is now teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and in his ministry in general is not anything particularly new. It’s all there in the Scriptures, in the Law handed down by God and in its application through the words of the Prophets. Rather, if anything, Jesus sees his purpose as getting back to basics. That he is to help the people get back on track, in alignment with the original intent of the Law, which, over time, has gotten a little lost in application in the lives of individuals and in the life of the community. Jesus makes this more explicit in his second statement on the subject: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5.20). Imploring his listeners to seek righteousness—right living—that is, living in accordance with the laws of God. Not like some of the scribes and Pharisees who were sticklers for making sure others lived according to the Law, but were not always so concerned about the strict adherence to the Law in their own lives. Particularly when it was to their benefit, be it financially or politically.

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“Is Not This the Fast I Choose?”

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A)

Isaiah 58.1-9a; 1 Corinthians 2.1-12; Matthew 5.13-20

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:05)

 

Today, following this worship service, we will have our parish’s Annual Meeting. Now some may think, “ugh, another meeting, with reports and voting and parliamentary procedures. How boring.” But Annual Meetings should not be boring events that we only do because the Diocese and our Parish Bylaws require them. True, there are some legal requirements that such meetings fulfill. But in reality, the only things that are required of Annual Meetings is that we elect new Vestry members and that we elect delegates to our annual Diocesan Convention. Actions that can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. All the other stuff we do at our Annual Meeting is extra. So why do we do it? Because aside from fulfilling legal requirements, the Annual Meeting is first and foremost a celebration of who we are as St. Gregory’s parish—of our common life and our ministries, and how that reflects who we are as the Body of Christ.

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