Joel 2:1
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Lent always takes me by surprise. Like an alarm, it commands my attention when I am most distracted with other things. “Is it that time already?” I say to myself. Most of the time I hurriedly gather myself and try to pray about a Lenten discipline or sacrifice, but mostly I come up short.
But God sounds the trumpet anyway. And the alarm continues, though I hit “snooze” more than I should. I hear the call because my church community will not let me forget that Lent is coming. Emails about Ash Wednesday services. Notices about Lenten meals and studies. Daily Lenten reflections that remind me to pay attention. My church community showers me with the rituals and liturgy that shape my Lenten journey every year. And I listen. I go to the Ash Wednesday service. I attend a meal with friends and reflect in community. And soon I find that while Lent starts like an alarm, I settle into the season because my friends at St. John’s take me by the hand to bring me along.
It is easy to think that our journey in Lent is one solely of self-reflection and private prayer. But the trumpet calls to all on the holy mountain. Luckily, we can listen and act together.
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 103 or 103:8-14
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6,16-21