Lent is a forty-day period before Easter which is inspired by Christ’s forty days in the wilderness. This was a time during which Jesus prepared for his ministry of teaching, healing, and giving his life on the cross. During this season, Christ’s followers seek to reorient our lives in the pattern of Jesus. We prepare ourselves to be open to the mystery and joy of Easter.
The focus of this season is on the repentance of sins. Sometimes we humans make mistakes- we lock our keys in our car. Mistakes are not sins. Sins are actions which push a wedge between us and God. Sins hurt others and they weigh on our souls. Lent becomes a time of empowerment, when we Christians look at ourselves with humility and come in prayer to confess to God. We need not be ashamed, because we are not our sins. God made us and loves us. We tell God we are sorry and seek to change our ways because we know that God will forgive us. We know confession is good for our soul.
In Psalm 51, the writer of this poem/prayer asks God to “create in me a clean heart”. The washing away of sins is a metaphor which is used throughout scripture. Anyone who has taken a needed shower knows the relief of being washed clean. This is the gift of Lent- it’s a time to come clean with ourselves and with God.
This Lent, I am asking our community here at First Presbyterian Church of Easton to consider the metaphor of coming clean in concrete ways. We know we have not been good stewards of the Earth. We pollute God’s creation. We waste natural resources. God gave humans enough resources for us all to have life: not just to survive but to live abundantly and fully. But we who claim to honor our Creator, do not use our gifts of intelligence and of compassion to find reasonable ways that no one be hungry or thirsty. We need to come clean before God, and look at how the Christian community can show the world our respect for God’s creation.
Today we know that we must reduce our use of plastic which unlike natural resources does not biodegrade. Not enough of plastic can be recycled, so we can do things like opt for plastic which has already been recycled and we can opt for plastic which we can reuse, rather than use once. In our church coffee hour, we will be exploring how to reduce our waste by having a “mug” counter where washable coffee cups are available. The idea is that individuals will either bring in their own reusable coffee container and bring it home or use (and wash) the mugs we provide. We do NOT want deacons and deacon helpers to get stuck washing mugs.
Won’t you join me in coming clean this Lent?
• Forget giving up chocolate in Lent: give up buying anything plastic until Easter.
• Save water and fossil fuels by committing to giving up meat one day a week: Friday or Meatless Mondays.
• Install a programmable thermostat or lower your thermostat at least 2 degrees to save energy. For each degree lowered, you save 5% on your home heating costs.
• Pet waste hurts your watershed when it’s washed into storm drains, streams, and other water. It’s one kind of pollution that can be easily cleaned up.
• Plan to stock Easter baskets with Fair Trade* chocolate and other goodies. Use Fair Trade* coffee and tea, like our Deacons are doing this Lent in coffee hour.
Your pastor,
Stefanie
* Fair Trade goods like coffee, chocolate and sugar are made according to a set of standards that encourages environmental sustainability, as well as ensuring that the people involved in production were treated and compensated fairly. Learn more at fairtradecertified.org