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| Selfie from Ash Wednesday service yesterday commemorating the beginning of Lent. |
fact that "yes, we're all gonna die!" But, for those of us who believe in afterlife, we are mortal and, yet, immortal.
Lent is a time to be introspective. Yesterday at my churches' Ash Wednesday service, my minister Rev. Gary talked about the book of Lamentations. It's a downer. In it Jeremiah wrote all these poems about the awful devastation of Jerusalem, including the slaughter of human beings. Besides that, this guy Jeremiah was chronically depressed.
We're not called to be depressed during Lent. But we are encouraged to think serious thoughts and to deal with suffering - in our lives and the lives of others, and the life of Christ.
Not to mention the fact that we're all gonna die!
Gary helped us understand that Lamentations isn't the only place we can find these references to suffering. He gave us a little quiz - using the big screen - about our knowledge of the Bible and Taylor Swift. For instance, where did the following quotes come from: Lamentations or Taylor?
You're like a lion ready to pounce.
Your knives and swords are weapons that you use against me.
Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease.
Gary was giving us kind of a fun way of dealing with the fact that suffering and death abounded in the Old Testament - but suffering and death abounds today as well.
If you want to look up the answers to the the quotes above, go to this website.
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