Pastor's Corner: Yes! Lenten luncheons will be taking place this year

Van Orsdel United Methodist Church has graciously offered to be this year's host of our Havre community's Lenten Luncheons. These will take place at noon on five Thursdays leading up to resurrection Sunday - Easter - Feb. 25, March 4, 11, 18 and 25. All are invited to attend. The luncheons feature soups and sandwiches provided by a different church each Thursday, along with a devotional thought from a person who regularly attends the church providing the food. Attendees are instructed to please use the south door of the church. Thank you.

So, what is Lent anyways? The following excerpts were taken from CrossWalk.com.

"What Is Lent: Honoring the Sacrifice of Jesus – 'Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.' Matthew 4:1-2 Just as we set aside time to spiritually prepare for Christmas Day, it makes sense to set aside time to prepare for the two most important days of the Christian year. Lent is a time that offers us an opportunity to come to terms with the human condition we may spend the rest of the year running from, and it brings our need for a Savior to the forefront. Like Advent, Lent is a time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper, so that when Good Friday and eventually Easter comes, it is not just another day at church but an opportunity to receive the overflowing of graces God has to offer.

"According to 40acts.org, 'While Advent is a celebration and a time of great anticipation, Lent is more frequently seen as a time of solemn observance and preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter. From its start on Ash Wednesday until its conclusion on Easter Sunday, Lent has been a traditional time for fasting or giving something up or abstinence. Just as we carefully prepare for events in our personal lives, as a wedding, or birthday; a commencement Lent invites us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus' life, death, and body resurrection.'

"But unlike the childlike joy associated with the season of Advent, with its eager anticipation of the precious baby Jesus, Lent is an intensely penitential time as we examine our sinful natures and return to the God we have, through our own rebelliousness, hurt time and again. Lent is also an opportunity to contemplate what our Lord really did for us on the Cross - and it wasn't pretty. But ultimately, the purpose of Lent does not stop at sadness and despair - it points us to the hope of the Resurrection and the day when every tear will be dried (Rev. 21:4).

"'And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"' Matthew 27:33-49.

"Although the nature of suffering is not one that offers itself to easy explanations or pat answers, the answers we seek seem to make the most sense in light of the Cross. There is nothing in the world - no religion, philosophy, or material comfort - that offers such a powerful answer to life's toughest questions as the two slabs of wood on which our Savior died. Although I was drawn to Christianity in search of joy, it's the Cross that keeps me coming back day after day, year after year. It is this time of year, known as Lent, that I am reminded of what Jesus did for me. When I look into the eyes of our suffering God, I'm in awe - suddenly the complexity of our Lord, the love of our Lord, the humanity of our Lord shows through. I realize God is not just some nebulous energy source or a grandfather sitting in the clouds - He is so much more. The Cross is where our faith stands when all other faiths fail. Christ's sacrifice and his subsequent resurrection are the true 'cruxes' of the Christian faith. Without one there would be no salvation, without the other, no hope. This is why Good Friday and the following Easter Sunday are the most important dates on the Christian calendar - even more so than Christmas."

So, I close with an invitation for each of you to come join in with us at these Lenten Luncheons, so that together we may contemplate all that Jesus did for us on Calvary's Cross, and respond be living our lives I such a way as to give God glory and profoundly honor the people around us every day. Amen!

--

The first and last paragraphs were written by the Rev. Edroy "Curt" Curtis; president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association; Northern Montana Care Center chaplain, and lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church

The majority of this article is composed of excerpts taken from CrossWalk.com.