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Click here to listen to the sermon. 12mins.
Duet 26v1-11 Firstfruits and Tithes
Romans 10v8b-13 Believe and confess
Luke 4v1-13 The Temptations of Jesus.
Practice quiet reflection in the Lord!
In the desert. Ate nothing. Tempted
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert! It’s a good place!
God wants us to find a quiet place with him, to listen.
Some may think 30mins a day is difficult, try 40 days!
I suppose the longer, then the deeper and stronger the link is made and sustained.
30mins is only a taster really or a top up. A three day retreat is a good start!
Meditation is a spiritual discipline practiced by many people of faith, because it works!
It is universally understood that people find great spiritual connectedness through meditation.
It works because it quietens the impact of the activity of the world upon us and allows us to draw close to our own voice within and the voice of the Holy Spirit within. John 14v17.
Of course it greatly matters on what we meditate on:-
· To meditate on the void and emptiness within the human soul, as some do, has led many people to personal destruction.
· To meditate on aggressive and violent music has also led many young people to personal depression and then destruction.
Mediation is very powerful and we can significantly direct the way we think and feel about ourselves, about the world about others and about God.
· Some people intentionally (and some un-intentionally) meditate on themselves and their own lostness within the world. This can lead the person into a deep personal depressive black hole. Not a good idea!
· This is why a Christian Spiritual Director has always been recommended to safely enable a person to explore with God some of the very deep and lonely personal places, to visit those places, unpack them, and repack and restore them according to God’s truth and healing.
Christian meditation however is based on God’s love and grace towards us and is accompanied by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, who guides and draws us closer to God through Jesus.
When we meditate on God our Father and creator, or on Jesus our redeemer, or on the Holy Spirit who gives us life, we experience personal restoration and increased sense of personal value because God loves us and created us. We feel a great sense of personal confidence, hope and meaning, because Jesus loves us and redeems us. We feel an increased sense of personal assurance and connectedness because the Holy Spirit enables and empowers us.
Create space in your life this Lent to spend time alone with God.
· Use the Lenten material to start your own daily practice.
· Treat yourself to a three day led retreat to be with the Lord. Ask me about what might be available to meet your needs!
It’s exciting to see what transformation God will bring in your life!
Rob Thomas
1st Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11
Romans 10: 8b-13
Luke 4: 1-13
Today is the first Sunday in Lent. Our journey towards the cross has begun again and over the next 6 weeks we are remembering the journey that Jesus was on towards that significant, and horrendous, day, but while the events of Good Friday may stir up some grievous emotions I think it’s also vital that we never forget the final outcome on that glorious Easter Day.
For some, this past week has been a busy one, involving the celebration of Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday which mark the beginning of the Lenten season and I know that a number of you took part in those celebrations.
I don’t know about you but Lent seems to have arrived very quickly this year, and to some extent that’s true because it has begun a week earlier than last year. Next year it will be 3 weeks later and Ash Wednesday will not be marked until 9th March, - but let’s not get too far ahead, the years are passing quickly enough!
No doubt each of us will observe Lent in our own way. Each of us will be on our own journey - our own pilgrimage - and each of us will enjoy different experiences on the way. We may be travelling on the same train but we are each looking out different windows so may see the scenery differently. However, we not only have sight, we also have hearing, so I encourage us all to listen, to hear what others are saying and, more particularly, what God is saying to us during that process.
Because Lent was originally marked as a period of fasting, or at least the reduction of, or abstaining from, eating so-called “rich food,” the day before Ash Wednesday, Shrove Tuesday, also plays an interesting part in the significance of Lent.
Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday, marks the last day of Shrovetide, which we don’t specifically observe for the whole week, but it is the week before Ash Wednesday, when all the rich food which should not be consumed during Lent is used, consumed or disposed of. That’s why pancakes have become the symbols these days because of their contents of eggs, sugar, butter and milk - not exactly what we now call rich food but were more likely to be on the “luxury” list a few centuries ago.
The word “Shrove” is derived from the early Anglo-Saxon phrase “to shrive” which I understand to mean the gaining of absolution by confessing our sins and undertaking some form of penance, so Shrovetide was/is the time for confession and penitence, leading to a period of fasting, abstinence, discipline and meditation.
In some countries, particularly Roman Catholic countries, that last week, and specifically the last Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, is Carnival time, a time when people allow themselves to participate or indulge in extravagant or frivolous behaviour as a way of letting off steam and a form of compensation for the weeks of fasting and discipline ahead during Lent. I understand that the word “carnival” is derived from the Latin, carne levare, which means ‘taking away the flesh,” in other words, not continuing a carnivorous diet.
One of the most well known carnivals is the one held in Rio De Janeiro and many of the Carribean countries follow a similar custom. I’m sure Philip would have memories of Carnivals during his years in Belize and I certainly has some great memories of Carnival time in Trinidad, many years ago now.
I realise that I’m not telling you something that you probably don’t already know about this Lenten period but I believe it’s important that we remind ourselves what this time is really about and that we fully appreciate what we are observing during the next 6 weeks. In our own ways I’d like to think that we are trying to follow the example of Jesus during his 40 days in the desert by fasting in some form, giving up luxuries and practising self-discipline. I say “giving up luxuries” which may for some mean no chocolate, maybe not indulging yourself with that daily Latte, abstaining from drinking alcohol, even walking to the shops rather than driving, there are so many ways we can exercise a form of self discipline which will help to focus our thoughts and activities on the purpose of this season. I can’t advocate fasting at the level Jesus did during his 40 days in the desert as I suspect that could be detrimental to your health, but having said that, I’m fairly sure that a reduction in the intake of food and other miscellaneous substances over the next few weeks will get us into good habits which may be beneficial to our health, long term, as well.
Jesus didn’t only fast during that time in the desert, he meditated and prayed, seeking His Father’s guidance for what was ahead, so if we are to follow his example for the 40 days of Lent then we too will have to apply some real discipline and adhere to some form of fasting, meditate and pray for guidance on how we too may do God’s will.
Last Wednesday was the day our journey really began. It’s not only a journey of remembrance but also a journey of repentance with ashes being symbolic of the wrongs we may have committed in the past that we want to put behind us for ever. Not only leave them there, in the past, but also forget them - as God has - and move on in our lives with the strength of the learning we have gained from those mistakes. The ashes are also an indication of our commitment to our Lord Jesus and to show God that we are truly sorry for all our wrong-doings during the year.
For me, the moment my forehead is marked with the ashes in the sign of the cross is the moment Lent truly begins and is a salient reminder that, thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection, I have been forgiven, just as all of us who believe and accept Christ as our Saviour, have been.
As today’ gospel passage from Luke reminds us, Jesus was repeatedly tempted by the Devil during his 40 days in the desert and I have no doubt that over the next few weeks of Lent each of us will also be tempted, especially if we have resolved to fast in one way or another, as there will be times when we are tempted to lapse. That will be the time that we need to recognise and resist the temptation by re-directing our thinking, our energy, towards an alternative activity such as those suggested on the Lenten Discipline sheet provided by the vicar, such as;
Reading God’s word alone with Him for 5-7 minutes,
Silent meditation for 15-20 minutes.
Prayer for 5 minutes.
Journal notes 3 minutes. ( Noting your thoughts, wishes, experiences during meditation, prayer etc.)
Lent may traditionally be a time of penance and abstinence but it is also a time when we devote more time to God and with God. In other words, Lent is not only a time for giving things up, it can also be a time for doing more, more things that will benefit others and in that process bring peace and joy to ourselves. Each of us will do that in our own way but I believe whatever we do during this period, and hopefully for the rest of our lives, needs to include a significant time for listening - praying and listening - hearing what God wants us to do, not only for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters wherever they may be in the world.
I said at the beginning of my talk that we are all taking this journey on the same train but looking out different windows, seeing the scenery differently but now I’m thinking we are each on different trains, starting from different stations but arriving at the same destination.
May your journey be a safe and blessed one with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as your travelling companions.
Amen.
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