Bishop Kevin’s Ash Wednesday Message
Transcript of the message:
We are invited to a Holy Lent. We hear the words, “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the church…by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.”* “To Make a Right Beginning.”**
During Lent we consider our spiritual health. How our lives, our living and loving, in our lives, homes, our churches, our towns, our schools, our places of work?
In what ways have we fallen short, grown cold-hearted? How have we failed to love God by embracing new life?
Recently I was at a congregation on a Sunday when their beloved clergy person was departing. And I listened to their words of gratitude and heartfelt loss. But I was struck most of all by their grieving; They were grieving.
At that moment, the Lenten reality took hold—We are all grieving: The grief of lost dreams, shifting landscapes, hopes for children and loved ones unrealized, the aches of life.
What are you grieving?
This Lenten season dares us to venture into the wilderness of that loss—to name it and to speak it and even dare to weep.
Let us not be afraid to explore the empty tomb of our own personal loss. Together, let us invite Christ to join us to move towards Easter Hope. Know of my prayers for you this season of Lent.
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*Book of Common Prayer
**Daily Prayer for All Seasons
If you’d like to read more about the themes Bishop Kevin speaks of in this message, Belden C. Lane’s “Desert Spirituality and Cultural Resistance” is a helpful resource.