Today is the second to last Sunday in Lent and it is amazing to me how people seem to have already skipped over the cross to Easter. At church today, people were wearing colors that reflected the warm colors of Spring and smiling at the beautiful weather this new season brings. Is there something wrong with our Christian calendar? Should we move Lent a few weeks earlier so that we are still reflecting the somber moods and colors of winter?
I wonder... what does it mean for our Christian communities that the weather and commercial industry direct our moods and dress more than our Christian calendar?
These are questions that have been with me every year during lent. I wonder how it is that we are to claim the cross and give space and attention for folks to bear their own cross before lifting it from them. What do you think?
Please do leave some comments. I'd love to know if I'm the only one who thinks about this...
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I haven't thought about this much, but it is a disturbing thought. I wonder how much more Lent would mean if we could find a way to live in this spring warmth yet still keep Easter in mind. Maybe that wouldn't be add to the experience at all, I don't know, but it does seem that "the weather and commercial industry direct our moods and dress..."
ReplyDeleteAs I was putting on my black dress yesterday, I thought about how warm it is outside and that it would be the perfect day to break out the sundresses for church. But I didn't. I didn't consider Lent, I just really liked the black dress I was putting on. Thanks, Dawn, for making it okay for us to still be wearing black in this 80+ degree weather.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I very much agree that we skip ahead. Even after Good Friday, we skip Holy Saturday because we're too busy preparing for Easter. Keeping Holy Saturday can be too painful, but it also makes us mindful of the people who live there.