Jesus said to his disciples:The Gospel this morning reminds us that this Lent, indeed the Christian Life as a whole, will demand a certain measure of sacrifice.
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?” (Lk 9.22-25)
Last night, I encourage the faithful to not just make this Lent a season of sacrifice and self-denial, but to also make it a season of sacrifice for a purpose. This is to say that we can use our period of self-denial to lead us more gently into service of others.
Jesus makes this clear in the gospel today when he asks us to deny ourselves but also to "take up our cross" and follow.
There is a course; a direction; a purpose. Please take time to make this Lenten Season, a time of action; of service.
Lent is a kind of spiritual pruning time. In pruning a tree, the aim is not to inflict damage on the tree, but to help it to produce more and better fruit.
Lord, show us what we need to prune ourselves of this Lent, so that we may become more fruitful branches of you, the true Vine.
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