Last Saturday we had an extra day–February 29th. This Sunday we Spring Forward in order to get an extra hour of daylight. This week we have Spring Break–an extra week off from school.
When you don’t have kids in school, Spring Break is just another week. The month of March is known for March Madness—the NCAA Basketball tournament when teams from all over the United States play each other to determine which team is the best in the nation. It is when millions of people in need of exercise take time out to watch 10 people at a time in need of rest.
In the church, we take a break in the Spring. It’s called Lent. We’ve just begun the season of Lent when we prepare our hearts to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. It is a time of examining ourselves, and repenting of things that have broken our relationship with God it is a time of letting the Holy Spirit x-ray our inner being and reveal problem spots. It is a time of submitting to the Spirit’s cleaning out the places where sin has worked its way into our lives and brought separation from our Lord. It is a time of emptying and filling.
I try to take care of my teeth. I brush every morning, most nights and floss every time I eat jerky. Still there was a time when a crack appeared. My filling was full … of decay.
As much as I would like it, I couldn’t just hope that the decay would go away on its own. I needed someone to come clean it out and fill in the hole it made so that it won’t return.
It occurs to me that there are areas in my life that need cleaning out and filling. There are areas have been filled that have developed cracks. When that happens I need to go for a cleaning. Once the sin is cleaned out I need someone to fill the hole it has left with good things, with things that will protect me from letting those things back in my life. And at regular intervals, maybe not as long as six month intervals, I need to be reexamined lest my fillings develop cracks.
What areas of your life need cleaning out? What areas need filling? Are there any cracks in your fillings? Tonight I would welcome your presence as we begin a series of Lenten Services examining some of the Parables of Jesus. We will start with probably Jesus’ greatest known parable-the one about the Good Samaritan. I think it will be a great opportunity to have a spiritual check up as we begin this week of Spring Break.
Joyful Life Lutheran Church 