Reflections on LENT
Matt 26:36-41
We just celebrated Chinese New Year last weekend. It is a time of great celebrations and festivities and marks the start of the Chinese people’s Spring season (春节). This year, while still celebrating the Spring season, a very different season is starting. Last Wednesday, 14 Feb was Ash Wednesday and marks the start of the Lent season, a six-week season that leads up to Easter. It is one of the most significant times of the year for many Christians around the world. It is a time of preparation, personal reflection and going deeper in our relationship with God as we prepare our hearts and minds for Good Friday and Easter.
Thoughts on Matthew 26:36-41
In preparation for LENT, I recently read Matt 26:36-41. This passage is about the Prayer of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane.
It was the moment before the greatest event in history, the salvation of all mankind but it was also a time of great sorrow for our Saviour. We had all to gain but He suffered all the pain for our sins. It was a lonely grief as His closest companions were found to be sleeping when He needed them most. However, He found solace in praying and seeking the Heavenly Father.
Time to slow down and make room for Jesus
As we enter into the LENT season, it is a time for us to slow down and reflect on what our Lord Jesus had done for us. The loneliness and pain that He felt as He prepared himself for His crucifixion and on the cross. (1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed)
God promises us that when we spend time with Him, He will draw near to us. ( James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”). To draw near to God means to get to know God better and be familiar with His voice. Jesus said He leads His sheep with His voice. (John 10:3“The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out”)
Lay down something to focus on Jesus
Jesus denied himself, took up the cross and bore our sins so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. In the same way, Lent is about laying something down and picking something up.
Jesus went ahead with this tough journey because of His love for us. What is our response to His love for us?
Fasting, or giving something up, is a very common practice for Christians during Lent. The idea is to give up something that is a regular part of our lives as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. It should lead us to set our focus on Jesus.
As I consider what I need to lay down to spend more time on God’s word, I realise that one of the things that I can do, is to exchange the time that I spend on social media for reading God’s word. With this, I might feel less connected with the virtual world of friends, but it is a chance for me to spend more real time with God.
We all have different life circumstances and I am sure that we can find something meaningful that we can lay down to focus on Him.
By Elder Tay Yong Thai