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An Introduction to Lent

By Vicar Lisa Rygiel

From “Feasting on the Word” Lenten Companion….

Lent is a time of self-reflection and penitence, a time to acknowledge our sinfulness and need for God's mercy. From the church's earliest days, Lent was a time of preparation for baptism of new converts and penitence leading to the reconciliation of those estranged from the community.

Mirroring the forty days of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness (which itself mirrored forty-day periods of trial experienced by Noah, Moses, and Elijah), the season of Lent begins forty-six days before Easter Sunday. Because every Sunday was to be a celebration of the resurrection and therefore not a day of fasting, the Sundays of Lent are not included in the forty penitential days of Lent.

On Ash Wednesday, Christians are invited to enter a period of self-­ examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial. We are called to use these forty days as a time of reflection on our sins, the ways that we sep­arate ourselves from God and from one another. Thus, it is easy to character­ize Lent as the somber, solemn period of the church year, but there also is joy to be found in the journey. The juxtapositions of mortality and eternity, sin and grace, death and life, make the path to Jesus' cross and tomb a rugged, rewarding terrain.

Lent can be a dangerous time. People come to the church looking for discipline and a new way to live; they come to be challenged - prepared for the heartache and joy of the cross to come. The fallacy of Lent can occur when we contain the season to six weeks of intentionality and introspection rather than building a Lent that becomes a life.

It is dangerous to meet Jesus in the dark places, to ask the same questions of ourselves that Jesus asks of his disciples, to accept Jesus' radical touch. In these moments of utter truth and honesty, we find ourselves vulnerable enough to connect with the risen Christ as never before.

Announcements

  • Flowers: During the six Sundays of Lent, simplicity is the order of the day. During Lent we use only green foliage to reflect the Lenten season of austerity and simple reflection.
  • Fellowship Time/Church Council: Join us after worship Sunday in the Fellowship Hall and conversation. Church council also meets after worship downstairs in the Fellowship Hall, all are welcome.
  • Daylight Saving Time Begins March 9: Be sure to set you clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night and we’ll see you at worship at 10 a.m. Sunday.
  • Children’s Choir: The Trinidad Music Association (TMA) children’s choir (ages 8-12) practice is at 3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. To participate or to get more information, contact choir director Vinnie Gumlich at 719-680-0851 or email music.association@gmail.com.
  • Ash Wednesday: We will have an Ash Wednesday worship service at 7 p.m. tonight, March 5, to mark the beginning of Lent. On this most penitential day, we receive ashes in the form of the cross, the same symbol placed on our bodies with water in our baptism as, even in this ashen mark of death, we anticipate the new life of Easter.
  • Lenten Soup Suppers: Our Lenten Soup Suppers will be held each Wednesday at 6 p.m. during Lent beginning March 12 in the Fellowship Hall, join us for food, fellowship, and a brief Lenten study. Sign-up sheets to provide food (soup, bread, dessert) are in the Fellowship Hall.
  • Church Directory: We are grateful for the diligent work of Julie Wersal and Ty Erickson Jr. in preparing the 2025 Zion’s Lutheran Church Directory. You should have received a directory via email on Feb. 19 or Feb. 25. Printed copies are in the Fellowship Hall and upon request, from Julie Wersal.
  • Newsletter: The March newsletter should have arrived in your email on Saturday, March 1, and printed copies are available in the sanctuary and fellowship hall.
  • Weekly Studies: Zion’s weekly Bible Study continues at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5 and on March 12, with the continuation of The Bible from Scratch series, focusing on The New Testament for Beginners. The classes will be repeated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 8 and March 15, respectively.

E-formation – First Sunday of Lent, March 9

Each year, Lent begins with a synoptic account of the testing of Jesus. Jesus was truly human, suffering from the devil’s temptations no less than we, and so he can stand by us when we are tested. We too are accompanied with the Spirit of God when we confront evil. Lent has traditionally been understood as a time to focus on resistance to evil.

Luke 4:1-13

We too live in a wilderness where evil is ever before us. Yet we too have the Spirit of God and are called to worship only the Lord God. The gospel speaks the good news that Jesus is with us in all our times of testing.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

We now are like the Israelites, in the desert of Lent, awaiting our arrival at Easter, the land of milk and honey. Yet each Sunday in the bread and wine we are already sharing the food of the Promised Land. As the ancient Israelites united in a covenant creed, so in Lent we renew our baptismal creed, and despite testing, we celebrate God’s bounty to us.

Romans 10:8b-13

Our creed is triune: filled with the Spirit of our baptism, we call Jesus Lord. Inspired by God’s generosity, our baptismal identity opens us up to all.

Zion's Lutheran Church

A Reconciling in Christ Community

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785