The Ending of Lent…
The Beginning of Holy Week…
Pick out a cup to pray with today. Consider what the cup of your life is like.
Hold your cup and consider what’s been filling your cup this week.
My cup has been filled with a lot of frustration lately. Allergy season hit hard and shut down my productivity and declutter plans this week which filled my cup with discouragement.
I’ve had a pretty pathetic lent…I started out strong and focused and lost it somewhere in week four. I think the stuff of the world got my focus rather than the stuff of God. The Wilderness of war and rumors of war invaded my peace and distracted me from being present in the wilderness with Jesus. I’d like a do over please!
We thankfully all get a do over this week…it’s Holy Week starting on Sunday. I’m starting early with today.
Once upon a time, Lent was only Holy Week, not the forty days, so we get to begin again and focus our attention on the last week of life on earth of Jesus.
Jesus had warned his disciples that this week was coming. I don’t think any of them were really ready, or actually understood.
Like us, they were all hoping for a different outcome. They were all still imagining a world at peace without the Roman occupation…they all wanted Jesus to deliver them from their oppression and for Jesus to be their conqueror.
That truly is what I want .. I want Jesus to come in and rescue us from all the oppression in our world. I want Jesus to come and end the senseless wars and killing of children. I want Jesus to bring peace and restoration and end gun violence in our neighborhoods and cities. I want Jesus to wipe out racism and injustice and bring his love and mercy into hearts, especially the hearts of my enemies!
I see why the disciples didn’t really get what was about to happen.
How are you feeling as the Lenten season is ending? Is your cup feeling full of misunderstanding, or perhaps it’s full of anger, frustration, hurt or rather empty due to the stuff of life? Talk to Jesus about where you are today.
Even when our cups are feeling broken and cracked there are good things we can take time to notice and thankful for like the beautiful trees this spring or the surprise of free tickets to a concert that I received this week. Celebrating our son’s birthday with him and listening to great jazz and remembering birthday past all brought joy into my cup!
What are the good things in your cup right now? Drink them in and be grateful.
So as we end Lent let’s keep an open cup handy as a reminder….
A cup open to receive from Jesus in the days ahead.
Let’s drink
A cup of God’s presence.
A cup of stillness
A cup of peace
Let’s hold a cup of grace for one another as we see family and friends.
Let’s hold a cup of love and grace for ourselves too.
Consider all the cups of Holy Week…Jesus took the cup of wine at the table at the last supper and gave us the new covenant. And the cup in the garden…What is the cup Jesus is inviting you to hold and drink from this week?
I invite you to pray through Holy Week with your cup. You can download s hand out for free freerangeworship.com
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com