Dear Caldwell family,
Gail here at the keyboard this week. I pray that this email finds you at peace and rejoicing in the Lord.
It’s hard to believe, but Lent is almost over. After next week, we will enter Holy Week, which ends with three days of silence and sorrow, when we, along with Christ followers all around the world, will remember the trial, death sentence, execution, and burial of the One we know as our Savior and Redeemer.
Silent Saturday. Holy Saturday. The truth is that what makes it a “holy” day is what happened the next day – the resurrection of our Lord. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
That’s what we often do, isn’t it? We want to skip the bad parts, fast forward through the suffering to get to the joy on the other side. We want to fast forward through our life’s challenges to get to the happiness and ease on the other side. What we know for sure is that there usually isn’t an easy path to the other side of our challenges. There is no “easy button” that provides easy solutions to the problems we face in life – as Staples wants us to believe. In obedience to that passage in Matthew that is quoted so often – Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest – we come to Christ in prayer and worship, and we lay down our heavy burdens, but sometimes even that doesn’t make us feel lighter. In deference to the unrelenting demands of work, family, church, and social media, our schedules are full, but most of the time, we feel empty. This “coming up on the rough side of the mountain” thing can feel mighty heavy and also mighty lonely.
But let’s not give up, friends. Let’s not lose hope, travel companions. Lent reminds us that God loves us enough to come to earth, walk with us, and share our sorrows. In John 11, Jesus wept with Mary and Martha over the death of their brother, Lazarus. God wept with those who wept.
In Galatians 6:9, we read “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” Let’s not grow weary, Caldwell. Actually, it’s nearly impossible to not get weary; perhaps there’s another word of encouragement I can provide. What about this one? Let’s not give up in our weariness. Let’s not give up on doing what is right when we are exhausted.
In these final days of Lent and during Holy Week, when many of us feel tired and overwhelmed, there will be several opportunities for us to recharge our batteries, to reconnect with one another, and to collectively plug ourselves into The Source of all that we need for life and godliness. This Sunday, I will be preaching from John 12:1-8 – looking at Mary’s anointing of the feet of Jesus and considering the question, “What’s That Smell?” Next Wednesday at noon, we will host the final Elizabeth Communities of Faith Lenten Series worship service and lunch in Belk Hall. On Palm Sunday, John will preach and lead us into Holy Week. On Thursday, April 18th, our Maundy Thursday service will take place in the sanctuary at 7 pm and will be followed by our 24 hour prayer vigil. Please plan to join in worship and in prayer, so that you and I can have our empty places filled anew with all that God offers so generously and freely to us.
Let us gather together in these final days of Lent to remember who we are and whose we are in Christ. And let us remember that we do not walk alone – Our Triune God, the three in One, goes with us, before us, and within us every step of the way.
Grace and peace be with you, Gail