- to yesterday's history
- to the current moments of our today
- to the movement into tomorrow's future
Time has a way of revealing the birth and death that lies within the cycles of season. And so it is with our lives. We were created to be eternal, where no time exists in the Divine and yet our humanity is subject to time and to its limits.
As we are in the spiritual season of Lent, time honors a Savior born nearly 2000 years ago and whose human life was cut short at the age of 33 and went on to experience the power of resurrection. In the Christian community, the Lenten season can mean many things to many people of denominational faith. Some use the passage of Lent as reconciling to God, some use it as a time of fasting and prayer, some use it as a time of reflection in consideration of the Cross of Christ. Jesus said himself... "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25).
As these photos show the glory of blossoms... a tree "birthing anew" in expression of life, so it is with us as we change through seasons, passing through the conduit of time, carrying within us God's own eternal life. As we give attention and consider the beauty of the blossoms of a tree, it seems reasonable to give attention and consider the glory of the Lord within our hearts. Our spiritual eyes are lifted to something beyond our humanity into the living presence of God and we experience life in His wholeness.
This time of Lent in my personal conviction, is not about penance but rather gratitude to One who so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.....
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| "Allegory of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ" |
Artist - Patrick Devonas
Join me at the Turn-Up Patch on Monday, April 14. "See" you then!
For me, Lent is, in fact, a season for repentance. To kneel at the foot of the Cross in humble realization
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filled with gratitude that we have a loving God ever waiting patiently for my return when I inevitably stray
from His light (His Word) and go my own way.
I agree.. repentance, reflection and reconciliation. However, penance, which is the word I used, takes on a meaning of its own. Penance are acts done to make up for sin; a penitential discipline imposed by church authority. The Word origin and History - late 13th century "religious discipline or self-mortification as a token of repentance and as atonement for some sin." One of the most powerful examples in scripture is in John 8:11 when Jesus said to the woman... "Go and sin no more". Simple and direct without added punishment as a condition of absolution. Jesus did it all on the Cross... He is my Atonement, my Mercy, my Forgiveness....
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