Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 19, 2026 - Thursday after Ash Wed.
[Deut 30:15-20 and Luke 9:22-25]
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." [Luke]
The season of Lent has begun and the
ashes from the observance of Ash Wednesday have been washed off or at
least have faded. The temptations to renege on what we promised
ourselves we would "give up" for Lent have also begun. If nothing else,
we may look forward to Sunday when we can take a break from it! What
is the point of the season anyhow? It is easy to forget that Lent is a
journey to a destination: Holy Week. Lent does not exist for itself
alone. The focus has to be on Jesus' own journey to Jerusalem to
suffer, die and rise from the dead. He is the "suffering Messiah" and
he undertakes his journey for our sake. We are not invited to be mere
observers of something that happened more than 2,000 years ago! We are
told that if we wish to follow Jesus, we have to accept the daily cross
of suffering if we want to share in his resurrection.
If we can develop a "big picture" of Lent, we have to see it in the
light of Holy Week. Traditional devotions such as the Stations of the
Cross can help with this, as well as the custom of "giving up"
something. But the invitation challenges us to a deeper understanding
of Holy Week. Our own suffering, death and resurrection find their
meaning in Jesus' own suffering, death and resurrection! When his cross
and resurrection become ours, Lent can make a lot more sense. AMEN