Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. Lent is the time of year when the Church calls on Christians to take part in a period of Spiritual Discipline for 40 days that ends with the great celebration of Easter. Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday when, in days of old, it was the tradition to use up all the goodies in the pantry and have a feast before Lent began as Lent used to be a time of fasting. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is the day when children and adults would go to Church to confess their sins and receive the mark of ash on the forehead, as a sign that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace. Here are some traditional prayers:Holy God, our lives are laid open before you: rescue us from the chaos of sin through the death of your Son and bring us to healing and wholeness.Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are repentant: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that as we lament our sins and acknowledge our unhappiness, that you, the God of all mercy, grant us forgiveness through Jesus.Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly life: give us grace that we may thankfully receive his gifts then undertake to follow in the blessed steps of his most holy life.This year, we shall be making our confession in Church on the 1st Sunday of Lent and those who want them may receive the ashes. For those of you who want to - make your confession at home. For true freedom comes when we recognise our sin, are sorry for our shortfalls, confess them to God and ask God to help us change. For, no matter how bad we are, what is truly remarkable is that God loves every sinner who turns back to Him and when even one sinner repents Jesus said that the angels rejoice in heaven. So, let us pray: For all my sins Lord, I am sorry and ashamed, I know I do not deserve your forgiveness, so I come to you trusting in your loving mercy and grace, asking: Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen
Candlemas – Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple Readings: Malachi 3v1-8; Psalm 24; Hebrews 2v14-end; Luke 2v22-40. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Through the prophet Malachi, we are warned that when the Lord comes to judge us we must be as clean as refined silver so we will be an offering that is pleasing to the Lord. For God is coming to judge us and God will judge against all those who have not mended their ways with the list including: sorcerers, adulterers, liars, racists, oppressors of workers and the poor, as well as those who reject God. The psalm tells us more about God who is coming to judge us. It says that God is the King of Glory, the one who created and filled the earth with life, the one who sits on his holy hill. The one who gives blessings and just rewards to those who are saved by him. All people who no longer worship idols nor swear oaths on lies. The people who have been made pure and seek his face. But we do not have too much to fear or worry about because in Luke we hear that on the day that Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple that an old righteous and devout man named Simeon was called by God to come and meet his Lord and saviour. Then a short while later, an old widowed woman called Anna, a woman who worshipped, prayed and fasted night and day in the temple, came and also gave witness that this was the child that God’s people were waiting for. What we learn from these encounters, is that Jesus is a light of revelation for the Gentiles, the one who will redeem Jerusalem, a sign who will be opposed, the one destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel. The reason we do not need to be afraid is also explained in Hebrews because it tells us that Jesus became like one of us because he is a merciful and faithful high priest, the one working in the service of Almighty God. As a priest Jesus came to make a sacrifice for the sins of all people, the sacrifice Jesus made through his own death, a death that destroyed the power of the devil and freed us from the fear of dying. For in dying for us as our great high priest, Jesus brought full and final cleansing of the sins of the whole world. Today, all of us need to keep in mind that God is coming and when he does we will all face judgement. This means we need to mend our ways with God’s help and live our lives as taught to us through the Scriptures. But whenever we fall from grace we need to keep in mind that each and everyday of our lives we can be made clean because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Let us Pray: Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you for your beloved Son who was: presented in the Temple, who was welcomed by Simeon and Anna, and who will come again one day to bring eternal life; cleanse us and make us pure so we can prepare to be presented to and meet our Lord Jesus. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
