Dancing Into the Rhythm of Lent
Rev. Mary Beth Morgan, preaching
Matthew 17:1-9
Transfiguration Sunday with Jazz in Worship
When you hear the word “Lent,” what comes to your mind? It might include “giving something up” or fasting, fish and Fridays. One of my early school memories was an assignment to bring a shoebox to school on Ash Wednesday. During Lent, we were to give our teacher any candy or sweets that we obtained, which she would then keep in our shoeboxes until after Easter. I imagine the intention was to introduce us to spiritual disciplines in a tangible way. It also had the added benefit of helping our math and calendar skills, and we were counting down, and marking off, the days until Easter.
Even as we grow older, there can still be a yearning to “get through Lent” and to Easter. Yet, the Lenten season offers an opportunity to be savored. Lenten comes from an Old English word meaning “spring.” Lent extends to us an invitation to embrace the springtime for the soul, and for reflection, prayer, repentance, wonder and openness to possibility and awe.
The scripture passage we are exploring, on this last Sunday before Lent, tells the story of the Transfiguration (from Matthew 17:1-9). It invites us to be open to mystery and awe, to listen deeply to Jesus’ words, to be willing to go up to the mountain and to come back down, and to be present. As Barbara Brown Taylor notes, sometimes “faith has more to do with staying fully present to what is happening right in front of you than with being certain of what it all means.”
In worship this Sunday, we are very fortunate to have the music leadership of IU Jazz professor, Pat Harbison, and three incredible student musicians, We will also celebrate welcoming new members. All are welcome, on Sunday morning, to get some breakfast anytime between 9:00-10:15am, join others around tables or participate in a Sunday School class. If this will be your first Sunday at St. Mark’s, or you have been here for decades, we look forward to sharing this time together on Sunday!