Where
is our Lenten journey leading us?
Bishop MacPherson's message for March 2010
"They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, 'See, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.'" [Mark 10:32-34]
For those who shared in the Ash Wednesday liturgy, you will recall well the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." [BCP p.265] We then departed from our respective places of worship and embarked upon our Lenten journey having also heard the words, "He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel." [BCP p.59] Prayerfully we have taken these words to heart, in order "that those things may please him which we do on this day, and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy ..." [BCP p.269]
Looking ahead as we travel this Lenten road, we look forward to that time when we relive the events of Jesus' suffering, death, and triumph. Jesus invites us to join him on the road to Jerusalem in the days ahead; to walk with him in the procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday; to share in that final meal on Maundy Thursday; to see his sacrifice on Good Friday; and to experience the great victory of Easter.
"When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back." [Mark 16:1-4]
As we continue to read Mark's Gospel account, we read the above. Their discussion and question on the way were important; the stone was large and far too heavy for the women to move. What a surprise to be found, the stone had been rolled away, and not by human hand. God's power of life over death is not thwarted by any sealed tomb. He breaks the bonds of death.
These stories remind us the Easter message of the victory of life over death is not relegated to that scene at the tomb some two thousand years ago. Each of us needs bonds to be broken, stones to be lifted - weights which hamper us from the new light and life as experienced in our relationship with the ever-living Christ. By ourselves we cannot remove such hindrances, but then, the Gospel message reminds us that God has done it for you and for me. Yes, he is there with us as we walk with him in the course of this Lenten season, as we make our way to Calvary, and on the road to victory-the Resurrection of Christ Jesus, Saviour and Lord.
My prayers embrace each of you, and I pray that as we walk with him in our worship, may we also walk with him in our lives.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, as you participate in your Lenten discipline, the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter, and as you receive the Risen Lord into your hearts in your Easter Communion, my prayer for you is that Christ's victory is truly experienced as your victory also. May you and those you love receive the joyful blessings of this Holy Season.
Faithfully in anticipation of the Risen, Living Lord,
The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson,
D.D.
III Bishop of Western Louisiana
