For a lot of us, life is pretty stressful. There’s work stress, family stress, stress from paying attention to what’s happening in the world, and more. In fact, I’m pretty sure a lot of the media we consume – via news, social media, and more, is intentionally geared toward making sure that we’re stressed about something, because when we’re stressed, we often pay extra attention to what we’re stressed out about. Keeping engaged in the things that stress us out turns into a feedback loop, and before we know it, we’re so worn down with stress that it’s hard for us to find ways to connect to the hope and joy that we’re called to as members of the body of Christ.
I confess, I’m guilty of much the same thing. I know I spend far too much time reading the latest news reports of distressing happenings in the world, managing complicated schedules of kids, and often wondering about how I’m going to preach good news when there’s so much stress in the world. The good news, however, is that there is good news to dwell in. Despite the (very real) stresses of this world, we know that we have a God who cares for us and provides for us abundantly. Jesus speaks in Matthew 6:25-34 of how God provides for us and for all creation. He reminds us to not worry about how God will provide tomorrow, because we already see evidence of God providing today.
And yet, we really can’t help ourselves, can we? We look ahead to the next major news item, to the anxiety of the next doctor’s appointment, to the places where we find we’re supposed to be in two places at once, and we get just a little lost in the weeds of all these things. It’s hard to remain focused on what is truly important.
This coming Sunday, I am blessed to be able to work with our confirmation kids again. One of my favorite activities is explaining the process of the creation of the ash that we will be using for Ash Wednesday, as we enter into the season of Lent. One of the things we do is burn the previous year’s palm fronds to help create new ash for Ash Wednesday. Strangely, this seems to be one of the kids’ favorite lessons, too. But as I explain the process of creating the ash, I explain the intentionality behind how the ash is created. I lift up other ways that we are able to be intentional as well. And some of that intentionality comes in setting aside the worries of the world in order to be fully present in this moment with God. We’ll have opportunities to do so a little more this Lenten season, and I hope you’ll join Deacon Connie and myself for worship on Wednesdays starting with Ash Wednesday on the 18th. It’s our chance to focus on the grace and hope that comes from God – a chance to rekindle the flame of hope that sometimes gets lost in the anxiety of the rest of the world.
So as I’ll be dwelling on the fire of the Holy Spirit in the creation of our elements of Ash Wednesday, I encourage you to welcome the Holy Spirit into your intentional walk with God this coming Lenten season. The Spirit that gives life points us to the joy that comes from God’s presence, despite the worries of this world. May you see God’s presence in the calm that you find in our journey together this Lent. May you know that God’s Spirit is with you despite the struggles of this world. And may the fire of hope bring you peace and courage as we live together as God’s people of hope in this place.