Embracing Lent

On Sunday, March 9, we began a six-week journey through Lent at Westend Church. Lent is the time when we contrast the darkness of our world with the light breaking forth in resurrection on Easter Sunday. I think Lent is important as it contrasts deeply with Easter.

We all love Easter

Easter comes pre-marked on our calendars each and every year. Easter is the time my grandparents will begin wearing light colors to church (I’ve never quite understood this). Easter means Cadbury eggs. Easter is the time we’ll gather together with friends and family and share a Sunday feast.

Easter is the time we celebrate resurrection.

The tomb is empty. Jesus is risen. Death has been destroyed. Nothing will ever be the same. We all love Easter, how do you not love Easter?

Lent is the time when we acknowledge that, in order to have Easter, Jesus needed to die.

There is no resurrection without death.

During Lent, we acknowledge that, before Jesus could burst forth from the grave, he first needed to be placed in it. And, even more than that, it’s during Lent that we’re honest about what put him there. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “Christ died for our sins.” It was my sin that Jesus went to the cross. It was for my sin that Jesus died.

This Lent, we’ll be walking through the book of Jonah. Jonah is the well-known prophet who turned from God and ends up being swallowed by a great fish. Over the six weeks of Lent, we’ll be identifying just how closely we can relate to Jonah. Even though we may never find ourselves in the belly of a fish, we can all identify times and places in our lives when we’ve turned from God insisting that we knew better. If you live in or around the Grand Rapids area, we'd love to have you join us at Westend. If you'd like to listen to the series, you can listen to or download the messages here.

It’s during Lent that we acknowledge our own brokenness. We do this not for the purpose of self-pity or despair, but we acknowledge our brokenness in the shadow of Easter, of resurrection. We acknowledge our brokenness knowing that, in his rising from the grave, Jesus has already defeated it.

It’s during Lent that we identify with our deep need for a Savior so that, when we gather on Easter, we can celebrate that Jesus, our Savior, has come and that He is victorious.



Photo: Don McCullough