Lent - a Special Season

We just enjoyed a lot of Christmas parties, and now we're talking about Easter! Easter fluctuates when it can occur on the calendar, and this year it's occurring on the earlier side of the cycle. The actual season we're launching into is known as "Lent," which starts with Ash Wednesday on February 18th and lasts for 40 days.

The church recognizes different seasons with specific colors. If you worship with San Pedro long enough you'll experience long weeks with green, one day with red, a few Sundays with white, and then two seasons with purple. Lent is celebrated with the color purple - all the banners, sermon graphics and church colors will be purple until Easter. 

Traditionally Christians celebrate Lent as a time to let go of behaviors, mindsets, and anything that habitually keeps us from the full life in Christ God wants for us. There is a wonderful Greek work associated with Lent called “metanoia." The word describes a movement away from a particular way of thinking towards a new life and a new way of beholding the world. For Christians, the goal is a change of heart. 

“2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

There are any number of spiritual practices you might embrace to participate in this changing of heart. Perhaps the most unusual discipline involves fasting, which is usually refraining from certain types of food. The idea in fasting from food is to create an emptiness that makes room for the Holy Spirit to do His work of heavenly sustenance. But you can also try “fasting” from behaviors that create in our mind thoughts of impatience, judgement, unkindness, anger or fear.

Alternatively or with fasting, you might pick up a daily habit of Scripture reading and prayer. Try sitting quietly in meditation on Scripture for an extended period of time. Start with five minutes and increase the time over the course of these forty days of Lent.

This year at San Pedro we will host several services beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 18th. We'll have a drive through Ashes to Go service in the morning then an evening service at 7pm. Try either to receive the imposition of ashes, a simple practice reminding us we were created from dust and to dust we shall return at the end of our lives. 

Lent, in contrast to the Christmas season, is a time to humble our selves in the way of Christ, "Who, being in very nature[a] God,
 did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
 rather, he made himself nothing
 by taking the very nature of a servant,
 being made in human likeness.
 And being found in appearance as a man,
 he humbled himself
 by becoming obedient to death—
  even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:6-8

The last days of Lent are called "Holy Week," which begins on March 29th with Palm Sunday. The Thursday of that week is Maundy Thursday, where we will celebrate the Washing of Feet and the Lord’s Supper. This year we will also have a special Good Friday prayer vigil focusing specifically on the suffering and death Christ accepted on our behalf. All of these opportunities will include Scripture readings, special music, and time for reflection.

We're honored to host you during this special season leading up to Easter.