Rose (or Refreshment) Sunday

Rev. Susan G. Astarita

March 26, 2006

Dear Friends,

On this refreshment or Rose Sunday, the fourth in Lent, we break the discipline of the season for a taste of the feast of reconciliation that awaits us at the end of our Lenten journey. It is the perfect time to take stock, have a long conversation with our spiritual friend and see where we are going in the final weeks.

Historically, Lent has carried with it a rather small set of prescriptive elements recommended to the faithful so that they might have a prescribed journey for the forty days. The assumption was that, since the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was one and unchanging, our journey through Lent should also be one and unchanging. It was thought that the church needed to provide a map for the journey because most Christians were not mature enough or had not been prepared well enough by the Church, to plan the journey for themselves. They could not navigate the season alone, nor could they arrive at Easter with a newly transformed faith.

Well, much has changed in the last two centuries! Today the church has come to understand that everyone has had a different experience of the power of the Holy Spirit, that each person has grown in different ways and at different rates in his/her walk, that our relationship with Jesus and our story of faith is unique. No one will ever travel our personal road to salvation. No one will ever understand the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday events in quite the same way.

Where are you on the journey? Here's where I am. I have a good spiritual friend who has asked me some probing questions. 'Where is God,' he asked, at those times when you indulge in the detrimental habit you are attempting to set aside. As I answer this question over and over I am astonished at the depth of my insights. YES, I have stumbled and "done some of the things I wanted not to do" but I am still on the path and will renew my prayers and conversation in the final weeks.

As you take stock, consider these thoughts:

If you need more knowledge, study
If you need more intimacy with Jesus, pray
If you need to offer more of your life in service, join a ministry
If you need to honor God's presence in your life, come to worship more often
If pain or burden is yours, schedule a time to make a confession.
OR

Do something new, something different, something additional or something with impact, in the name of God!

Prepare now for the new resurrection life offered at Easter!

Faithfully,

Mother Susan +