Freeing Jesus: A Journey to Easter

by Pastor Sara

“I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown and he replied: Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of GOD, that shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.”

From the poem ‘God Only Knows’ by Minnie Louise Haskins

These words are engraved on the wall of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in England. “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.” Though this sounds dangerous and scary, the promise is that the hand of GOD will be safer, more comforting, brighter than any light. The hand of God that holds us, guides us, stays by our side. This reminds me of my mother’s hands and the mother’s hands that my hands have become. A parent’s hands are strong, tender, firm, yet forgiving. They guide and are trusted implicitly. Even when we drop limp to the ground in anger, confusion, fear, or pure exhaustion, a parent’s hand follows, bracing our fall. This is the hand of God.

I would like to invite each of you on journey this Lenten season. Our theme, Freeing Jesus, by Diana Butler Bass will create the framework for our journey but within that framework we will be inviting you to free yourself, to be open to new ways of experiencing Jesus at work within and around you. It is the Jesus of OUR experience - rooted in our feelings, our knowings, our interactions with the Son of God – that we invite you to explore this Lenten season. We have a Wednesday evening program that offers a variety of ways to experience Jesus, from writing to prayer practices to discussion of the previous week’s sermon. Each Wednesday you may participate in whatever group you feel drawn to, staying with the same group for all four sessions or participating in a new group each week. I encourage you to try something new or return to a practice that may have fallen by the wayside in the busyness of life. What interests you? What is calling you? What scares you? You will also have opportunity on Ash Wednesday, in worship each Sunday, and during Holy Week to put out your hand and be open to where God may lead you to know Jesus more deeply and intimately. Jesus is mystery. There is darkness. There is blinding light. The unknown may be scary and dangerous. What we know with certainty is that we hold the hand of God through it all. God is with us as we travel this journey and beyond. Welcome to our journey to Easter.