The Parish Magazine - Parish of Greater Whitbourne

of Greater Whitbourne Page 3FromTheRectorIn the heart of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalemstands the Church of the Resurrection.The Crusaders, perhaps because of their focuson death and Christ‘s cross, called this theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the placewhere the rock of Calvary, the events of Easter,and the empty tomb are celebrated by variousChristian denominations every Sunday, withevery space filled with rituals, rites, icons, mosaics,statues, chants, hymns and words.It is also the place where a Greek Orthodoxpriest, Mathias, has served joyfully and sacrificiallyfor eight years. The tourist groups don‘tmeet him, though the individual visitor might,as Mathias enjoys helping those who appearlost or bewildered in the confusion of imagesand sounds. Mathias‘ face, behind a full beard,shines with joy in sharing his passion for theworship of this place. He speaks of God‘s loveand presence, majesty and mystery, and openseyes to the focus of all the sacrificial worship,dedication, confession, tears and fasting forour sins: the love and joy that is present inGod‘s gift of life if we only have acceptinghearts.Lenten fasting carries different understandings.Lent is perhaps known to non-Christiansas a time of giving up something to be givenback in abundance at the celebration of Easter,like chocolate. So it is a symbol of sacrifice, atbest.Lent begins on Ash Wednesday the 22 nd of February.The ashes express our personal andcommunal mourning for sins and failures, andecho examples readily found in the Bible, as inJob 42:3-6, Jeremiah 6:26, Daniel 9:3; the ashmarkedcross reminds us of Ezra 9, which tellsof a linen-clad messenger marking the foreheadsof the inhabitants of the city who aresorrowful over their sins, while those who arenot marked are destroyed. The forty days ofLent echo Jesus‘ time in the desert, separatinghimself from others, to pray and fast, and that,in turn, perhaps echoes Moses‘ period of fastingand repenting when the Israelites made theGolden Calf.These are religious observances to remind usof our relationship with our saving God, and toremind us to make space for God‘s life today.A balance to reflective mourning of Lent is thepreparation for the renewed joy at Easter. Lentis the time to make space in our lives from allthat hinders our meeting with life and joy onEaster Morning. Making space can be painful; itmight require new eyes and ears for seeing, sothat we recognise the Lenten journey as a pilgrimage,an adventure towards a sure end, nota miserable endurance test to be suffered.Lectionaries are now available in all churches.Readers should refer to these for details ofweekly readings. Any problems or questions,please let me know.Lent ServicesThere is a service at 11am on Ash Wednesdayin Whitbourne Church, followed by the firstLent Lunch at about noon.There is the service of Compline every Sundaythroughout Lent at 6pm in Whitbourne Church.There will be Lent Lunches in the greater parishevery Wednesday in Lent, at 12.3pm - venuesand hosts to be confirmed. This informationwill be published on the Parish Website atwww.whitbourne.org.uk - a great place to keepup with the latest church news, as well asmany other resources.