Greetings from the Moderator MARCH 2023
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This month all month we are in the liturgical season of Lent. The dictionary defines Lent as a period of fasting and regret for one's sins that is observed on the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The ‘fasting’ part is why some folks give up something for Lent, a discipline people practice as an act of self-denial, an echo of the self-denial Jesus practiced throughout his ministry even to his death. Because it is hard to give up something that is a regular part of our life, the practice also reminds us that we often fall short of what we know we need to be doing and that can put us in touch with regret for our sins. Practicing the disciplines of Lent can help us get ready to deeply appreciate the death of Christ for our sakes on Good Friday and the Good News of Christ’s resurrection on Easter. Practicing those disciplines can help us grow stronger as Christ’s witnesses sent to share the Good News in God’s world.
I spend an hour most Sunday mornings in Sunday school with a group of really bright and eager learners aged 6 to 11. I am the identified teacher but truth is, I learn as much as they do every week and they know it which makes it fun. Word has gotten around that good stuff is happening for kids at our church on Sundays and the class which began with six is now up to eight and their parents are in Sunday school, too. Funny how that happens. Some weeks there is one kid in class. Some weeks there are eight. Every week is an adventure. Recently the text for the week was Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God” The theme of the lesson was the sin we are part of as part of a larger community, what grown ups often call ‘corporate sin’. After we talked about the groups we are part of and the things we do together that cause hurt, like thoughtless comments to another person at school which hurts their feelings or failing to recycle which hurts our neighborhood and ‘puts junk in the world’ (from one of my scholars), we talked about what the prophet Micah said. I asked about justice and they knew that it meant being fair to everyone. I asked about kindness and they knew it meant being nice to other people, sharing, like that. I asked about being humble and one of them said ‘it sounds like hungry and I am hungry’. I agreed that it sounds like hungry but really it’s the opposite. When we are hungry, we really want to feed ourselves. When we are humble, we find out what other people need and do what we can to help them get it like speaking up when we see that somebody else has hurt another child’s feelings or saying sorry when we have. The dictionary says that humility is freedom from pride or arrogance. I did not bother the class with that. We had had enough definitions for one morning and people their age do better with concrete examples than abstract ideas. Later in the day, I saw the child who had been hungry passing out cake slices after church. I asked if she had gotten over being hungry and she said she had. I told her I liked the way I saw her being humble, serving other people. Being hungry is a natural part of life. We need to feed ourselves, but we also need to develop the humility the Lord requires if we are to grow in grace as Christ’s witnesses. The key thing about true repentance is that it frees us up from pride and arrogance so we can be humble, humble enough to hear and see the needs of other people and ready to work with them to see that their needs get met to the glory of God. My hope for you on this Lenten journey is that you get exactly that freedom. Paige
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Rev. Dr. Paige McRight
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