Lent - Patience and Forgiveness
Lent – Patience and Forgiveness
As we approach this next week of Lent – Maundy Thursday (Washing of Feet and Last Supper) – Good Friday (The Crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ) – and Easter Sunday (Jesus’ Resurrection) – Can you imagine what was going through the heads and in the hearts of the disciples? I wrestle with this every Lent. The music of Lent (“Were you There When . . .”) causes me to imagine. This is the practice of Imaginative Prayer. Can you place yourself as one of the disciples? What was Peter thinking . . . Matthew thinking . . . Thomas thinking . . . Judas thinking? What are you thinking? (Comments below?)
Early Christian experience was preceded in Old Testament times by a long period where the need for patience was paramount. The Messiah was foretold and people waited, and waited. They were still waiting when Jesus began his ministry.
Lent is about Patience
We sing about this in some of our old hymns:
Have Thine own way, Lord
Have Thine own way;
Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
After Thy will,
While I am waiting,
Yielded and still.
Consider the last two lines of that stanza. Patience is not my strongest suit! I’ll admit that. I found these quotes about patience interesting – and they do not say “still” while waiting:
Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – that is patience.
Leo Tolstoy
The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.”
Croft M. Pentz
[Who is Croft Pentz? An interesting fact: Croft Pentz was a pastor to the deaf and spent 35 years as a chaplain at The NJ School for the Deaf.]
What might that “something else in the meantime” look like for you? What did the people of the Old Testament do in the meantime? They prayed, watched, waiting for the Messiah. What have you waited for? What are you waiting for? We’ve all waited for answers to prayer. Isn’t this waiting or call for patience something for us to remember when hope seems to be fading? Can we place our confidence in God and trust that He has a plan? There are often times when that is really hard, isn’t it? What do you think? (Comments?)
I pray for and have confidence in the thought that while we can’t necessarily understand what God will do, we can trust He will do the best for us.
Lent is about Forgiveness
Pastor Leanne, in her March 8th blog post drew our attention to The Jesus Prayer, a prayer of the heart.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.
Have you practiced it? Can you feel it in your heart?
Jesus forgave – He forgave the lack of understanding in his disciples. He forgave His captors and crucifiers. He forgives us. Who have you forgiven?
Some leading thinkers offer us thoughts on forgiveness and are worthy of our reflection/meditation:
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
C.S. Lewis
We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it.
C.S. Lewis
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peter asked Jesus for help in understanding forgiveness:
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22
Patience and Forgiveness - where do they lead?
Maybe we can think of it this way:
Patience and Forgiveness [lead to] Trust [leads to] Faith [leads to] Hope
What say you? (Please comment below)
Praying for you,
PB
Community Presbyterian Church
32202 Del Obispo
San Juan Capistrano. CA 92675
949-493-1502