Have you noticed the strange way that the Lenten Season begins and ends this year?Although Christmas is always Dec 25. Easter falls on a different date every year which is usually somewhere at the end of March or beginning of April. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring! We then count back 40 days (NOT including Sundays) to the beginning of Lent to establish the date for Ash Wednesday.
This year those dates seem just a bit odd! Ash Wednesday begins Lent on Valentine’s Day and Easter ends the season on April Fool’s Day! Maybe it’s not that they are odd—but somehow strangely ironic and maybe appropriate. Isn’t it the greatest April Fool’s joke played on Death that the tomb was empty? Surprise! Jesus is alive!!
But, what about Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day? How many persons have been broken hearted on Valentine’s Day? There are all kinds of events for single persons who have no significant other because Valentines can just accentuate the fact that they are alone. On Ash Wednesday, we remember how we have broken God’s heart. We recall that too often we have failed to live up to the promises we have made. Maybe it is somehow appropriate that Ash Wednesday falls on “Heart Day” – a day filled with so many broken hearts.
The sermon series during Lent is called “Promises, Promises.” What are those promises that we have made to God and broken? What are the eternal promises that God has made to us? Pleasant Grove UMC offers two opportunities to begin a Holy Lent on Ash Wednesday, February 14 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. What is the promise you will make to God this Lent?
Pastor Rachel
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