The Mainline Minister

Yes, today is the day that comes but once every four years: the 29th of February.  A story in today's Wall Street Journal focused on some of the problems people born on this day encounter, one of them being that the DMV's computers are sometimes unable to account for this occurrence.  My son saw the headline and asked me what the DMV was.  Ah, blessed, youthful ignorance.  It almost makes one want to leap with joy. But what does this mean for Lent?  The short answer: nothing.  Today we still should reflect on our actions, repent of our sins, reorder our lives.  We don't need a calendrical anomaly like February 29 nor the bureaucratic wizardry of the DMV to do this.  All we need is a willing and contrite heart.

Here in northern New England this morning the sun is shining ... and the wind is blowing.  It looks like March is indeed warming up in the wings, ready to blow in like the proverbial lion.  But we still have a couple of days until we get there, so let's focus on the present.  In normal years, the 28th is the last day of February.  Not in 2020.  Once again, we observe Leap Year, the quadrennial day correcting calendar drift.  It's an interesting topic, but it has nothing to do with Lent. Ah, Lent.  So familiar, yet so strange.  The other day I was asked by my son about Ash Wednesday as it relates to Jesus' life and I responded with a short explanation temptation, the devil, 40 days in the desert, how Sundays don't count.  And God bless him, he still came to the service and wanted to adopt a discipline.  He was focused on what truly matters, on getting right with God. How about you?  How about me? Will we get lost in minutiae or will we focus on w

How do you feel about rain.  Good? Bad? It depends?  Yes, it depends works, at least for me. Today has been gray and rainy, sort of a blah kind of day.  But the forecast had been for up to 4 inches of snow.  For those of you who indulge in winter sports, this change in the precipitation is unwelcome.  To me, it's welcome news.  Yes, I welcome the rain, and with it the coming of spring.  Of course, we have to do some work first, like Lent.  Today might be a good day to take a few minutes to sit down and really take stock of what you'd like to have happen during this season of Lent. Then you can begin to think about how you might achieve those goals. Just remember to bring an umbrella.

Today we begin Lent.  It was cold and raw as I stood in front of the church to dispense ashes.  There was no foot traffic and the cars sped by.  I hope things are different at lunchtime. You might ask, was it worth it.  I believe it was, that what I did it was good, that it was important to offer the ashes.  In past years, people have stopped.  In every year, including this, I have been able to offer a visible witness to our faith.  As we embark on our Lenten journey, it is worth considering what each of us might do to make our faith known to others.  Doing so is incredibly important in this fallen, contentious world.   Jesus has chosen each of us to be disciples - one of the things for which we might repent during this Lent is how we all too often turn away from being known as one of his followers.