Holding the Cross at the Center
Dear Friends in Christ,
Lent is one long journey to the cross.
The season has many other aspects, of course. We often think about the practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, as described in the Ash Wednesday invitation to a holy Lent. Or we think about temptation and personal disciplines. Or we think about confession and absolution. All of these things are right and true.
And yet if there is one overarching theme to Lent, it is the journey of Jesus towards the saving work of the cross. Lent points towards that mystery until, on Good Friday, we finally contemplate it in all its terror and wonder.
I encourage you, in this season, to discover the profound love embodied in the cross.
There are many ways to do this:
- Many people wear crosses or have them in their home. If you have one, let it be your touchstone in this season, a call to attention and a reminder of Jesus’s saving presence.
- Consider meditating on the stations of the cross, a series of 14 traditional moments during Jesus’s crucifixion. You can find many adaptations on line.
- Come on Fridays at noon to Grace Church, where we pray through the stations together, followed by a short eucharist. The whole service is shorter than a lunch hour.
- Come immerse yourself in the stations tomorrow, Saturday February 28. Father Jon and our seminarian Seth Buck Wise are leading a retreat on the stations from 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Our joy at Easter is commensurate with our willingness to walk through the painful parts of Lent. I hope you can open your heart to the cross.
Yours in Christ,
Anne+