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Hi everyone! I hope you’re having a good week!

March is moving right along. Yesterday we arrived at Ash Wednesday, and now we’re officially into Lent, with its 40-day buildup of anticipation for Easter. 

It’s confession time. I don’t know how much each of you has been engaged with the historic church calendar over the years. We probably have many different experiences. I grew up in a church that was extremely Bible-centered, but not particularly interested in the liturgical calendar at all, except of course for Christmas and Easter. So, I was largely oblivious to the Lenten season until I went to college and began taking courses in church history. 

In other words, Lent was not deeply etched into my spiritual DNA during my growing-up years. It wasn’t a huge shock when I became more familiar with it. I was raised to understand the value of prayer, fasting, and other disciplines that focus one’s heart and mind on spiritual things. I’ve come to appreciate Lent for those reasons, and I definitely think it’s healthy to reflect and prepare well for Easter, which really is the high point of the Christian year. But if some of you notice that I don’t always comment on the Lenten season or make as much of it as you are accustomed to, hopefully this helps to explain why.  

To me this is a great example of what Paul means when he says in Romans 14: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”  In external matters, our Lord gives us freedom to worship Him in the ways that are most helpful and meaningful to us, and He calls us to be understanding and generous toward one another. His main concern is with our hearts. I’m so glad to worship together with you all in this wonderful, diverse community which is bound together by a deep love for Jesus and a real appreciation for His death and resurrection and presence in us. 

Now, having said all that, there is one Lenten practice that I would strongly encourage us all to follow. Can I suggest that for Lent this year we commit to giving up one hour of sleep? Or, if you’d prefer, going to bed one hour early on Saturday and giving up an hour of precious evening time?  

Yes, that’s right. This week we all turn our clocks ahead 1 hour (officially at 2:00 am on Sunday morning).  So it’s that dreaded weekend where more church members than usual are late for Sunday morning worship, or more likely to yawn their way through the service.  We can’t avoid Daylight Savings and just need to get through it. But perhaps it will feel like less of a nuisance if we all incorporate it into our Lenten worship.  “Lord, whatever else I may or may not give up in honor of Your sacrifice this Lent season, I’m willing to let go of that hour of sleep on Saturday night!”  

I’m only half-serious, of course. I don’t mean to trivialize this season, especially for those who may take Lenten practices quite seriously. May your worship in the next 40 days be rich and wonderful. But please do remember the time change on Saturday night as well. I love to share coffee and conversation with everyone, but singing will be more robust if we’re all there at 10:00 and not 11:00! 

Oh, and if you’re reading ahead, we’re going to go through 1 Corinthians 13 this week. It’s a familiar favorite, and never gets old. It is, I think, the best ode to love ever written, and it always speaks to me in new ways each time I work through it. 

Meanwhile, have a wonderful week, and enjoy that sunshine!

Pastor Ken