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Luke 18:9-12:
[Jesus] told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’“Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” 14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”
Kyrie eleison, Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison, Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Kyrie eleison.
(Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.)
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner.
From Phil:
I have written several series on Lent over the past several years. I was not going to send anything else out this year, yet I am compelled to revisit these, and share them again. This Lent I will focus on some ancient prayers which I am just beginning to appreciate. The Church experience I was raised in could best be described as “Methodist Lite”, and I was never exposed to celebrating some of these rich and ancient traditions. The two prayers above are thought to be two of the oldest observed in Christian services.
I never celebrated Ash Wednesday until my late 20’s, nor really even celebrated or observed Lent until my late 30’s. Now I cherish these seasons and deep traditions of faith. So I will spend the next few days writing about those hard words: sin, repentance, failure, and sacrifice, by going through some great prayers and traditions of our faith. Don’t despair, Lent is only 40 days long, and Easter is coming.
Today is the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday. During Lent, we can participate in several ancient traditions that can best be described as the “Spring Practice” for celebrating Easter. You see, Lent teaches us how desperately we need Jesus, so that when Easter arrives we are truly ready to receive all that Jesus offers and requires of us.
You may attend a Lenten Communion Service where the ancient rite of Imposition of Ashes is observed and the participant has a smudge of ash (usually in the form of a cross) placed on the hand or forehead. It is rarely seen in my town where late-comer Protestant denominations do not observe some older traditions. Nevertheless, if you can, find a participating Church and attend this Service, it is a great start for this season.
You may also fast today, or begin a forty day fast giving up some luxuries, habits or practices (social media, alcohol, desserts, Fox News and CNN, come to mind)). We fast in order to replicate Jesus’ 40 day journey into the wilderness. Lenten fasts are usually properly maintained until the evening of Holy Saturday. Sundays, the day we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord every week (not just Easter Sunday) are traditionally not part of the forty fasting days. However, most participants carry on until Easter Sunday. I would recommend you do the same.
Finally, Lenten traditions usually contained three different themes of Christian observance, fasting, as mentioned above, deeper spiritual discipline ( Bible Study or daily devotionals) and “Alms Giving”, sacrificial giving to the poor in terms of money or service. If possible, find a way to do all three. Give something up, take something on that will enrich you spiritually and give something away ( your time, talents or “alms”) to make the world a better place.
May this season deepen your faith and bring you peace.
Peace. Phil Parsons
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From Rodger:
Phil, you make an interesting point as you begin. There has seemed – across many protestant denominations – throughout the 20th century, a kind of “anathema” quality to practices like Ash Wednesday and Lenten discipline. The late writer / theologian Phyllis Tickle called this the “generic and undeniably BORING aspect of Reformation era Protestantism,” and I think she was absolutely spot on! (I can remember church members actually using the euphemistic insult of something being “Papist” and therefore never to be accepted in their version of Presbyterian / Reformed worship and spiritual practice. (Don’t get me started on how difficult some of these “mosquitos” with “Ruling Elder” in front of their names were to deal with on a regular basis!)
It’s like we’ve somehow failed to appreciate that what is truly ancient in spiritual practice can still have the power to inform and deepen our faith journey. A case in point comes to mind that might illustrate what I mean: I’m reminded of of a lovely member of one of my congregations, who was the epitome of the “little, old lady.” Always polite, always proper – in her own way, and always incredibly demanding when things didn’t suit her. For a while, she regularly harangued me about “When are we going to sing the OLD hymns? Not this new-fangled stuff you keep putting in the bulletin every week!” One week, I took her at her word, and put a 4th century Gregorian Chant into worship as a prayer response. (Fully knowing what would greet me in the narthex after worship!)
True to form, as soon as the benediction was over, here she came, practically breathing fire: “WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT MOANING AND DRONING YOU HAD US SING?” I calmly replied, “You said you wanted to sing some of the old hymns; this one was over 1,600 years old; is that old enough for you?” You can guess what came next: “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT. I MEANT FANNY CROSBY!” Trying to explain to her that hymns written in the 1860s and 1870s weren’t really all that old didn’t really assuage her outrage in the least!
Which – I guess – is a long way of saying that we sort of threw out the baby with the bath water in much of our spiritual practice as a result of the Reformation. There is so much richness, depth, and even beauty in the ancient practices, even those of other churches (like Presbyterians appropriating the Book of Common Prayer and Thomas Cranmer’s Great Litany.) It’s more than announcing that “I’m giving up expensive chocolate for Lent.” It’s being reminded that our spiritual journey – and our growth in the life-long process of sanctification (much different than the instantaneous moment of salvation that comes about through whatever transforming moment each Christian experiences.) takes work and cultivation, and is diametrically opposed to the instant gratification most nominal Christians assume is their spiritual right.
And you remind us perfectly that Lent is an opportunity to actually grasp these ancient forms once again and find out how life-giving they can be for us – right here and right now, in the struggles we have both now and ahead – as well as take seriously your reminder that Lent is work! To truly embrace it and gain what it can offer will cost us. Our time, our effort, our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual lives being stretched beyond our “normal” comfort zones. Phil, I think you have given us a good beginning here.
PS: Here are two versions of Kyrie Eleison – a traditional one and one from Mr. Mister – a flash-in-the-pan band from the 1980s