Friday, February 16, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Lord, Who throughout These Forty Days”

And through these days of penitence,
and through this Passiontide,
yes, evermore, in life and death,
O Lord, with us abide.

Abide with us, till when this life
of suffering shall be past,
an Easter of unending joy
we may attain at last.

by Claudia F. I. Hernaman
Hymn 166, Glory to God
verses 3–4

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Reflection

I often have this feeling like I need to “earn” Easter. That it doesn’t feel right to celebrate Easter without being fully penitent during Lent. That’s probably not the most spiritually healthy attitude. We should be able to celebrate, grieve, and mourn as we’re able.

But last year I traveled for work during the three weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. I arrived back in Chicago on Saturday and went straight to an Easter Sunday celebration the next morning, and it just didn’t quite feel right. Celebrating Easter without Lent and its surrounding traditions felt incomplete.

Part of why I find this time so important is because while this hymn sings of an Easter of unending joy, we’ll wake up on Easter Monday and go back to work in a broken world full of pain and injustice. As with any time of anticipation, that time comes to an end and often you can end up feeling like “That was fun. Now what?”

This time of preparation is a reminder of God’s love, that God came to be with us and to save us. And hopefully that is something that we can take with us beyond this time. At some point we will have an Easter of unending joy. But until that time, we’re called to bring God’s justice to this world, and this time of preparation might just help us do that a bit better.

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Prayer
Lord, center my heart during this time. Remind me of your presence that I may go into this world full of your love and grace. Amen.

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Written by Jared Light, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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