There is a famous scene from the movie “Goldfinger” in which James Bond is fastened to a table and a laser is headed for him inch by inch. Bond says, “Do you expect me to talk?” The villain says, “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” Lent is a time of contemplating our own mortality through the lens of Jesus’ death.
As I said yesterday in the service, “The Christian life is a paradox between life and death.” Jesus calls us to die to self so we may have new life. This forty day lead up to Easter we will explore the healing power of dying to self. Each Wednesday we will look at a spiritual discipline that kills our ego and gives life in Christ. Next Wednesday will be Repentance. Luther said that the whole life of faith is one of repentance. We ask our Lord to continue to kill our sin and give us forgiveness. The next week is the spiritual discipline of Service. We kill our need to serve ourselves and serve others instead. Then we move on to Fasting. Through a time of fasting we deny our need for food and replace it with something else. Then we learn about Prayer. We kill our need to focus on getting things done and receive time with our Savior. Finally we talk about the Laying on of Hands. We set aside our need to be in control and ask God to heal us.
Join us in person or online, Wednesdays at 6:30pm. Life comes through death. We aren’t being morbid. We are being honest.
