Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent is the time of year when the Church calls on Christians to take part in a period of Spiritual Discipline for 40 days that ends with the great celebration of Easter. Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday when, in days of old, it was the tradition to use up all the goodies in the pantry and have a feast before Lent began as Lent used to be a time of fasting. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is the day when children and adults would go to Church to confess their sins and receive the mark of ash on the forehead, as a sign that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace. Here are some traditional prayers:Holy God, our lives are laid open before you: rescue us from the chaos of sin through the death of your Son and bring us to healing and wholeness.Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are repentant: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that as we lament our sins and acknowledge our unhappiness, that you, the God of all mercy, grant us forgiveness through Jesus.Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly life: give us grace that we may thankfully receive his gifts then undertake to follow in the blessed steps of his most holy life.This year, we shall be making our confession in Church on the 1st Sunday of Lent and those who want them may receive the ashes. For those of you who want to - make your confession at home. For true freedom comes when we recognise our sin, are sorry for our shortfalls, confess them to God and ask God to help us change. For, no matter how bad we are, what is truly remarkable is that God loves every sinner who turns back to Him and when even one sinner repents Jesus said that the angels rejoice in heaven. So, let us pray: For all my sins Lord, I am sorry and ashamed, I know I do not deserve your forgiveness, so I come to you trusting in your loving mercy and grace, asking: Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen
As we prepare for the season of Lent, I began thinking about and reading up on the traditional practices of - prayer, fasting and alms-giving. Since childhood, I took the view that the Church's pressure to fast and give alms was unkind because I saw so many hungry and sick people doing without the little they had to survive on in order to fast. I also saw people getting into debt with the "tally-man" in order to give alms to the Church. As a child this all looked wrong and I could not accept that a good God would want this. So, when I grew up and was called into ministry, I have favoured and encouraged the more modern Lenten alternatives of taking action to enhance our prayer lives, giving up something other than food or taking up something extra, plus doing something positive for or giving up something other than money for the benefit of others. This week of reading was enlightening because as I read what theologians from down the ages have written about traditional Christian Lenten Practice, I realised that they were probably reasonably well fed and comfortable. So I could see that their message and teaching was fit for themselves and other well off people. However, what they said had been used to create a terrible burden for those that were sick, starving or poor! So, for the first time I feel vindicated in my lifelong conviction that the Lenten Fast needs to be interpreted flexibly to maintain the spirit of the practice rather than the letter of it. For surely all of us can enhance our prayer lives by beginning to pray regularly for the first time, by increasing what we pray about or how long we pray for, or by praying at times, in places or using words that are different to our usual pattern. Then for those of us with capacity to fast maybe we should be looking to fast from things we do to excess - such as gaming, internet, social media, shopping, to name but a few of the things that distract us from God and the world. Then when we think about giving, maybe we ought to think about giving in accordance with what we have available to share with others, such as time, gifts, skills, love, care, attention, support, etc. For, in this way we can all participate appropriately in Lent - without some of the inherent problems of the traditional Lenten Fast. So armed with these thoughts, I have now adapted what I am doing this year to make a more appropriate Lenten commitment, for me. I hope you are inspired to draw close to God over the 40 days and nights of Lent, make an appropriate Lenten Fast and give in accordance with what you have a surplus in. Lucy (Parish Priest)
2nd Sunday before Lent Readings: Proverbs 8v1&22-31; Psalm 104v26-end; Colossians 1v15-20; John 1v1-14. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: The readings in Proverbs tells us about God’s son, God’s first creation. Proverbs tells us that God’s first creation was with God from the beginning and was there before the creation of earth. This is the son who saw everything, that was created in heaven and on earth, being created. The son who was alongside God rejoicing at creation and delighting in the human race. The psalm is a song of praise to the creator of all things on earth. It is a prayer of thanks to God: for making the land and the earth; for making creatures large and small and beyond all number; and for giving life, food and good things to all creation. It is a song and prayer that reminds us that: it is by the spirit of God that we are given life, and that when God recalls his spirit, we die and return to dust. The Gospel reading from John tells us about the promised Messiah’s entry into earth. John tells us that this is the one who was with God in the beginning, who was there at the time of creation, who is the Word who gives life and light to all people and who has the power to make, all those who receive and believe him, into the children of God. For God the Father’s only son, the word who became flesh and lived here on earth; is the Messiah, the one named Jesus who is full of grace and truth and who has shown us his father’s glory. The letter to the Colossians tells us that Jesus is the Christ. The one who shows us the image of God, because He is the first born of all creation; the one through whom all things were made, the one for whom all things were created; and the one in whom all things are held together. For Christ is the one in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The one through whom God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things on earth and in heaven, through the power of the cross on which Jesus died. The one, who as the first born from the dead, brings peace between humankind and God. The one who is the head of the body here on earth, the body we call the Church. In combination, these readings tell us that the promised Messiah is the Christ, the Son of God, the one with his father from the beginning, the one who came into the world to die for us, the one and only Saviour of the world. Let us pray: Almighty God, creator of all things, teach us to see you in all that you have made, and to recognise you in all your children. We thank you for the gift of life, we thank you for your gift of salvation, we thank you for your body - the Church. Guide us this day, so that we can be transformed by our Saviour’s cross and made into new creations as the children of God. So that when the day comes for our spirits to be called back, be can be welcomed to enjoy the delights of heaven. Amen Thank you for joining us.
LENT 2024 at St Matthew with St Chad, Smethwick, Our Lenten season begins on Wednesday 14th February 2024. Midweek Bible Studies during Lent, We shall have a simple Bible study each week. These will take place at 10.45am for about an hour, which is after the 10am Thursday Communion service. The sessions will take place in the room at the back of the Church within the Church building. The Bible studies will take place on:22nd February 202429th February 20247th March 202414th March 2024 21st March 2024All are welcome and anyone who wants to join us may just turn up on the day. Those who join us can come to just one session, more than one, or all five. In the sessions we will :· hear a reading from the Bible, · listen to a brief comment,· have time to ponder and share - (BUT, there will be no pressure for anyone to speak, share or discuss anything),· then offer ourselves to God in prayer. Our Lenten season celebrations will include: - Ashing on Sunday 18th February for those who want it during the 10am Communion service.- Mothering Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday 10th March at our 10am Communion service.- Palm Sunday will be celebrated on 24th March at our 10am Communion service.- Maundy Thursday will be celebrated at 6pm on Thursday 28th March and there will be no 10am Communion service that day.- Good Friday will be celebrated at 10am on Friday 29th March with prayers in Church and a short walk of witness.- Holy Saturday will be celebrated at 6pm on Saturday 30th March with a short Service of Light. - Easter Day will be celebrated at 10am on Sunday 31st March with a Service of Holy Communion.
