Tonight, I celebrated my second Maundy Thursday as a Lutheran and it was a beautiful, moving, experience. I haven’t forgotten Evangelical services I used to attend that gravitated towards an emotional response. But, this was very different. Now, I don’t long for or rely on emotions to move me spiritually. This evening, I had a genuine religious experience of emotion.
Truthfully, spirituality is not my thing these days – it’s been replaced by religion and orthodoxy. After practicing Lent, legitimately, for the first time in my life, I have had a lot of self-reflection. I gave up Facebook because it had become a large element of my life. God didn’t tell me to give up the social network, I’m sure the divine one would come up with something better than Facebook. I thought it would aid the process of reflection that I’ve been facing – I had no idea what I was in for – Lent has been a rude awakening.
Within the confines of Lent, my life has had some pretty major changes. What do these things have to do with Lent and reflecting on sin and mortality? Potentially, nothing, but the season has changed my life.
When you take all that has happened during this Lent season into account, one can imagine that I’ve had a heavy heart. Christ’s death on the cross was and continues to be victorious over the condition of sin and its little individual sins that tag along for the ride. Right now, I am living in the forgiveness of the Lord; more than, simply, remembering it. In a way, I’d say one has to endure a little bit of death before they’re free to live. Of course, this may be subject to debate. The bottom line is that I was told to my face that my sin was forgiven and I felt it so much that I held back tears because I was too overjoyed to cry. Last, but not least, thank you Lord for not fast-forwarding me out this time of trial. Because, tonight wouldn’t mean what it does if you had produced an easier way out of life's hardships.
Truthfully, spirituality is not my thing these days – it’s been replaced by religion and orthodoxy. After practicing Lent, legitimately, for the first time in my life, I have had a lot of self-reflection. I gave up Facebook because it had become a large element of my life. God didn’t tell me to give up the social network, I’m sure the divine one would come up with something better than Facebook. I thought it would aid the process of reflection that I’ve been facing – I had no idea what I was in for – Lent has been a rude awakening.
Within the confines of Lent, my life has had some pretty major changes. What do these things have to do with Lent and reflecting on sin and mortality? Potentially, nothing, but the season has changed my life.
When you take all that has happened during this Lent season into account, one can imagine that I’ve had a heavy heart. Christ’s death on the cross was and continues to be victorious over the condition of sin and its little individual sins that tag along for the ride. Right now, I am living in the forgiveness of the Lord; more than, simply, remembering it. In a way, I’d say one has to endure a little bit of death before they’re free to live. Of course, this may be subject to debate. The bottom line is that I was told to my face that my sin was forgiven and I felt it so much that I held back tears because I was too overjoyed to cry. Last, but not least, thank you Lord for not fast-forwarding me out this time of trial. Because, tonight wouldn’t mean what it does if you had produced an easier way out of life's hardships.
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