We find ourselves once again in Lent. Though it kind of feels like Lent 2020 never ended, we have made it through an entire church year since then, many of us figuring out ways to celebrate the seasons in new and different ways. Once we have an entire years worth of recordings, can we just point people toward last year’s? No? Okay. So we preach once again.
And so, preachers, what will you say? What do your people need to hear? The Narrative Lectionary has the Good Samaritan and Mary and Martha and Jesus (discussion here). The Revised Common Lectionary has Mark’s Baptism/Temptation/Ministry story as well as Noah’s ark and 1 Peter alluding to Noah’s ark (RCL discussion here). Maybe you are doing a series or going off lectionary in some other direction.
Whether you are preaching Narrative Lectionary, Revised Common Lectionary, or something else altogether, we are here to help. What do you need? Sermon illustrations? Time with the Children? A way to wrap things up? People to help you untangle ideas or find commentary? Let us know; we will help as we can.
Meanwhile, my daughter baked a Funfetti cake for her birthday yesterday, so I have cake to share.
Art Attribution: Aebischer, Émile. Noah and the Dove, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56486 [retrieved February 17, 2021]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/32915437885/ – Brother Lawrence, OP.
Wendy Lamb works as a commissioned pastor in a Presbyterian Church (USA) in Southern California and teaches college English classes at a local community college. She occasionally blogs at Bookgirl.
RevGalBlogPals encourages you to share our blog posts via email or social media. We do not grant permission to cut-and-paste prayers and articles without a link back to the specific post. For permission to use material in paper publications, please email revgalblogpals at gmail dot com.
RevGalBlogPals 
I am on the NL and thinking about the questions we ask.
LikeLike
That’s intriguing. I look forward to seeing where it will lead you. –Wendy
LikeLike
Last Saturday I was one of a gazillion people on a Zoom/Facebook/YouTube workshop with WW and Oprah. How many times did I hear, from several different speakers, “It’s not a diet. It’s a wellness journey.” Which got me thinking about journeys. Long journeys. Life itself as a journey. Lent as a very small piece of a very long journey. Is Lent a journey to the cross, or a journey to the resurrection? A journey to a new way of living/being? And what about the relationship between the journey and the destination? Is the journey just as important as the destination? Hmmm…
P.S. I did like the title of the RCL meditation this week: “1st (or 52nd?) Week of Lent.” Yup. We in New Orleans had a Lent like that in 2006, the Lent after Hurricane Katrina, when I declared, “I’m not giving anything up for Lent! We’ve already given up too many things since this storm! Electricity! Homes! Friends! Family members! Jobs! And more!” It’s like Katrina all over again, this 52nd week of Lent.
LikeLike
Yes. I was going to use a version of that title until I realized the RCL post had already done. :-). We are going with Lent as a time to pause and reflect rather than a walking through the wilderness this year.
I appreciate your question about the journey. It might be all those journeys in one. I find myself suddenly thinking about Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian has to journey to the cross before he can journey to the Celestial City. Not exactly what you are suggesting, but the idea of journey brought it to mind.
–Wendy
LikeLike
Wendy and All – what is your favorite story of Jesus where his teaching/s is/are stunningly counter-cultural. I’m thinking of telling some of the stories of Jesus throughout Lent as a way to walk the journey…. ideas?
LikeLike
I’ll think about this. I have a certain fondness for the workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). I think our ideas of what’s “fair” makes this still countercultural. (e.g. “Don’t forgive their student debt because I had to pay off mine.”) is still counter-cultural. –Wendy
LikeLike
My spouse suggested I start out with, “Welcome to year 2 of Lent.” Seems we are all feeling that way. sorting through all the emotions of the year and trying to figure out how to guide others in the same even as we try to find the good news and joy. still wandering my way around hoping it all forms into a sermon.
LikeLike
Yes. I think we are used to one way of lookin at Lent and this year feels like we may need a different approach. Being the guide for all the emotions when dealing with them ourselves has been challenging. I hope your wandering bears fruit in a satisfying sermon. –Wendy
LikeLike