NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021
This Sunday is the Second Sunday IN Lent. It is also the last Sunday of Black History Month. The assigned Hebrew text Genesis 17 reveals a message to an old couple that tis hard to believe; while in the assigned Christian text from Mark 8, Jesus extends this seemingly unwelcome invitation to “Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me.”
Lent is the time of year in which we take a spiritual journey assessing our life in relationship with God. Frederick Buechner asks some questions we should consider during Lent to help us think about where we have been and where we are going. He asks:
- When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see in it that you most like and what do you see in it that you most deplore?
- If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be, in twenty-five words or less?
- Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would most like to undo?
- Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember?
- Is there any person in the world, or any cause, that if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?
- If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?
Frederick Buechner goes on to say: “To hear yourself try to answer questions like these is to begin to hear something not only of who you are, but of both of what you are failing to become. It can be a pretty depressing business, all in all, but if sack cloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter, (Resurrection), may be at the end.”
As we continue our Lenten 2021 Journey, there is much that seems impossible to believe or like unwelcomed news. However, remember when God speaks to us, it will be for our good. Therefore, on our Lenten journey and all lifelong; we should take Jesus up on His seemingly unwelcome invitation.
Join us at Covenant this Sunday by Zoom or Facebook Livestream. My sermon will be “Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me,” based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Mark 8:31-38.
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