Greetings!
Shrove Tuesday.
Ash Wednesday.
Lent.
Easter.
What is this stuff all about? It’s interesting – if you do a little research there is a lot about traditions and how different denominations practice these things differently, if at all. So, it’s not like there are any hard and fast rules – good.
“Shrovetide” used to be the three days when Christians would confess their sins and seek absolution before “Ash Wednesday” when they would go to church and receive ashes on their foreheads recalling the Biblical references to ashes as a sign of repentance. Thus began Lent a time of self reflection, especially concerning one’s relationship to God.
OK? Sounds OK to me. Last night I was privileged to speak at Wyoming Church’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner (OK, the pancakes are another whole discussion!). In preparation, the Holy Spirit led me to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
So John came, the people confessed, got baptized, the process of ‘making the paths straight’ was begun. (In ancient times, people would go out ahead of a king and clear brush, rocks, etc. from the roadways, cleaning the path – making it straight – for the king.)
So, I’m going to say that ‘shroving’ is like coming to John, confessing our sins and our ashes are our repentance. (This can be true whether you ate pancakes and got ashes or not.) But John was not the goal! Jesus was the goal. John was a signpost to Him; John was clearing the way for Him.
So, join me if you will, in confession, repentance, and jumping into Lent; where we will do a little path straightening. Let us spend some time clearing out the debris – the junk that has fallen and grown into the road between us and Jesus.
Lent – like John – is not the goal. Easter - the resurrected, living, saving Jesus Christ is the goal!
Let’s spend a little time making the path straight for Him.
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