Pastor's Corner

As I write this, it’s the first day of spring. The bluebonnets and other wildflowers brighten up the roadside. Trees are budding and the grass is growing. Green is the color of the season. Yet, in the church, we’re still in the midst of the season of Lent. And the color for Lent is purple, symbolizing the passion of Jesus. It symbolizes, too, that during this season we grow – or should grow – more introspective, as we reflect in our relationship with God.

Some of you have heard me say that Lent is my favorite season of the Christian year. Oh, of course, Christmas and Easter are wonderful, but at times the real meaning of each can be lost in all of the hoopla surrounding these joyful times. Not so in Lent. The mood of the season grows ever more somber as we approach Good Friday. The hymns we sing invite us to ponder the meaning of this time, and the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection.

This Lenten season culminates in Holy Week, what is, I believe, the most theologically significant week of the entire Christian year. In a sense, it’s like riding a roller coaster. What begins so joyfully crescendos to great solemnity. It begins with loud shouts of “Hosanna” and the waving of palm branches, and ends the silence and darkness of Friday. When I hear “O Love divine, what has thou done!”, I’m very moved. Mournful strains of this hymn, and others like “Were You There” and “Ah, Holy Jesus” help me to reflect on this most sacred time in the life of the church.

I urge you to participate in all of the services of Holy Week. On Palm/Passion Sunday, we will have one combined service at 10 a.m. It will be a very special service, and will be led by the Praise Team. Following the service in the sanctuary, we will move to the Fellowship Hall for a special celebration of Holy Communion. It will serve as a reminder that “On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread . . .” You may experience this holy meal in a new and powerful way.

Maundy Thursday will be a two-fold remembrance. First, we will have a Passover Seder meal in the Fellowship Hall. It begins at 6 p.m. and requires reservations. Those who may have attended one of these will recall how special they are to Jewish families. The following night, Friday, we’ll observe the Service of Darkness. The sanctuary will be stripped, and the “Reproaches” will be read. It is, I believe, the most solemn of all Christian worship.

Finally, Easter arrives! Beginning at 7 a.m., the Praise Team will lead the gathered people from both Hunt Baptist and Hunt UMC in an Easter Sunrise service. It will be followed by a breakfast prepared by the Bill Petty Men’s Bible Study. Don’t miss it! And, at 11:00 will be the traditional Easter Service led by the Sanctuary Choir. Holy Communion will be celebrated at both of these services. It will be a wonderful week. I hope you don’t miss any of it! See you on the road as we continue this Lenten journey.

Grace and peace,

Mike

March 26, 2017