thy blood was shed for me

Although I love the Lenten season, I often find it difficult to actually observe it. In the end, I think it reveals how much restructuring my whole life needs, not just for this one season a year, but for every day. Not enough space is made for prayer. My ears are not open and my heart is not as attentive as it should be. I live like a frantic, worried soul when I should be at peace.

Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline spoke deeply to me this week. Two of his chapters revealed to me what I lack (among many other things): simplicity and solitude. He refers to these as two of the outward disciplines, but stresses that the outward manifestation flows from an inward reality. "It is possible for a person to be developing an outward lifestyle of simplicity and to be filled with anxiety," he says. The inward must come first. This is what Lent should be about: a pursuit of the deeper inner realities of the Spirit-filled life; those realities that can only express themselves outwardly.

Strangely enough, all of that was simply an intro to what I am actually posting about. My point is that I am actively trying to observe Lent and go deeper, so here is something to that end.

I'll be teaching the song "Thy Blood Was Shed For Me" in church tomorrow. This is a somber and penitential hymn originally written by Charles Wesley and put to new music by Matthew Smith, one of my favorite modern hymn-writers. The melody is wonderful in its ability to capture the two sides of repentance the lyrics portray. First, we see our sin and grieve over it. But then, we leap in faith into Christ - casting our sins onto Him. So musically this works itself out beautifully. The start of each verse is low, quiet and sorrowful, a deep meditation on our poverty. But then the melody immediately soars like an insistent plea as the lyrics turn from sorrow over our sin to a surrender to Christ and his ability to cleanse us. My ability to describe it stops here - I can't begin to portray the arrangement in words. You can hear part of the song as Smith's website. Just scroll through the tunes on the main page.

It's a fitting melody, but ultimately it is the words that anchor a hymn in place. And these lyrics powerfully portray our situation both apart from Christ and in communion with him. Here they are in full:

Let the world their virtue boast and works of righteousness
I, a wretch, undone and lost, am freely saved by grace
Take me, Savior, as I am; let me lose my sins in Thee
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
They blood was shed for me

Full of truth and grace Thou art and here is all my hope
False and foul as hell, my heart, to Thee I offer up
Thou wast given to redeem my soul from iniquity
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me

Nothing have I, Lord, to pay nor can Thy grace procure
Empty, send me not away, for Thou knowest I am poor
Dust and ashes is my name, my all is sin and misery
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb, Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me

That first verse is especially relevant to our Lenten journey. This is ultimately where we must go: seeing the depth of our lostness, we turn from self-boasting to see the breadth of Christ's fullness and we declare "Take me, Savior, as I am. Let me lose my sins in Thee!" In this season of the "Christian Passover" may we speak these words and know their truth: "Thy blood was shed for me."

ash wednesday, a day late

Yes I realize I am belated on this entry. I hoped to post it yesterday, but alas, these things are not always so simple! I wanted to initiate/invite some reflection for Ash Wednesday (yesterday), as we enter the season of Lent.

To state it briefly, Lent literally means "springtime." This is a fitting description, not because it falls on the transition from winter to Spring (at least in our part of the world), but because it paints a picture of new life. Lent has historically been a season of repentance and renewal for the church - a time of once again looking at oneself and to the sacrifice of Christ for a new sense of the unity offered by Jesus to his followers. This is a unity that places us in Christ fully - in His death and His resurrection. So we remember his call to die to ourselves, to "take up our cross and follow" him. But we also remember that through His conquest of death, we have the hope of new life, both in eternity and in small vignettes of the Kingdom here and now.

In other words, it is not merely a drab and morbid season of self-sacrifice and meditation on the sufferings of Christ. Rather, it is a time in which we take action to promote a greater unity with Christ in our own lives and those around us. So, yes, giving to the poor and fasting are fitting pursuits in this time. Through such acts we simultaneously cry to God for His life-giving love and faithfulness and we proclaim to our community the greatness of the Kingdom Christ brought in with his life, death and resurrection.

This 40-day sojourn (46 including Sundays) from Ash Wednesday through Good Friday, culminating in Easter Sunday, is my favorite season on the church calendar. As with all traditions, there is a constant danger of becoming legalistic or simply going through the motions. But when observed with a heart longing for a deeper sense of God's presence in our world, these times can bring great refreshment and renewed purpose. Holy Communion comes with a profound and vivid sense of vitality for me this time of year. I invite you to join with the church around the world in remembering the beautiful sacrifice and redeeming life of Jesus Christ. We shall all shout on Easter Sunday: "He is risen!"

I'll leave you with a simple poem from Oscar Wilde called "The Ballad of Reading Gaol":

And thus we rust life's iron chain
Degraded and alone
And some men curse, and some men weep,
And some men make no moan:
But God's eternal Laws are kind
And break the heart of stone.

And every human heart that breaks,
In prison cell or yard,
Is as that broken box that gave
Its treasure to the Lord,
And filled the unclean leper's house
With the scent of costliest nard.

Ah! happy those whose heart's can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart
May Lord Christ enter in?

Blessings to you this (day after) Ash Wednesday. May our hearts break, that He may enter in and heal them.