Welcome to Lent,
Closing of week six,
In preparation for Palm Sunday.
These meditations are an opportunity for us to stay connected to the Lenten season all week and think about Lent in the context of our everyday lives.
My name is Jess and I have engaged Lent in everything from giving up physical things like sugar or alcohol,
To giving up character issues like sarcasm and negativity,
To not engaging Lent much at all.
So these times are meant to take the focus off the transaction of giving something up for religious duty,
But engaging the season as a time for spiritual growth and renewal.
To start,
Let's take five big breaths together.
The science behind mindfulness practice is fascinating.
We are training our minds to be more attentive to life and prayer.
As we do this,
We dampen the activity in a part of our brain called the amygdala and increase the connections with another part of our brain called the prefrontal cortex.
This connection helps us to be less reactive to stressors and to recover better from stress when we experience it.
It sharpens our focus and over time makes us more compassionate and has positive impact on relationships and mental health.
So for just one minute,
Feel yourself breathe.
Try to stay connected with your breath and particularly be mindful of how your body feels just breathing.
I hope that was calming to your body.
If your mind went to other places just now or happens throughout this time,
That's okay.
It's natural and you're still here,
So let's move on.
Take a moment and identify,
Where has God been today?
Think about the last 24 hours.
In joy,
In struggle,
In people,
In being alone,
Where has God been lately?
Five days from the crucifixion that we recognize on Good Friday,
Jesus entered Jerusalem to the cheers of crowds.
They placed palm leaves and yelled Hosanna in the highest.
Jesus was celebrated for what he meant to individual people that he touched,
For a community that found hope in him,
And he was such a force that he caught the attention of the governmental powers.
The Lent season asks us afresh,
What does Jesus mean to you at this time in your life?
How do you celebrate that?
So if you're able,
Extend your arms out and turn your palms up or rest your palms up on your lap.
We do this in a posture of release to the Creator.
Let's take a moment to reflect on what you are grateful for in this season of your life and spiritual journey.
What needs to be said to your Creator?
What does Jesus mean to you in this time of your life?
God,
We thank you for our very lives.
As we feel our breath,
We remember this lesson of Ash Wednesday.
From dust we come from,
And to dust we will return.
We place our very lives into the hands of the crucified Christ,
And thank you for the Spirit which guides us.
Make us joyful people,
Content,
And people with full hearts.
We exchange the burdens of this world for the ability to choose joy.
We understand our dustness,
So we commend the days of our lives to you.
We hold loosely the cares of this world in exchange for the assurance of your presence and the hope we have.
God,
We receive the sacrificed Christ and all that it offers us as liberation to our world and to our hearts.
The great spiritual writers in the Christian tradition often maintained that prayer's role is to change us on the inside as preparation for active lives lived in the world.
Our final time of silence is to spend a moment deciding on a small step of living into Lent as we turn to the final days,
Or to reflect on the Lenten commitments you have made this year.
What steps of faith are before you relationally,
In your neighborhood,
Living into your gifts and talents?
Spend a final time of silence before the sacrificed Christ in a posture of commitment.
Amen.
We welcome you back for more guided prayers during the final week of Lent,
Reflecting on Good Friday and the joy of Easter.
