It’s been a while since we’ve had an article for Words on Worship (WOW). I thought Lent would be a good topic to cover. “Just as we set aside time to spiritually prepare for Christmas Day, it makes sense to set aside time to prepare for two of the most important days of the Christian year, Good Friday and Easter. Unlike the childlike joy associated with the season of Advent, with its eager anticipation of the precious baby Jesus, Lent is an intensely penitential time as we examine our sinful natures and return to the God we have, through our own rebelliousness, hurt time and again. Lent is also an opportunity to contemplate what our Lord really did for us on the cross – and it wasn’t pretty. But ultimately, the purpose of Lent does not stop at sadness and despair – it points us to the hope of the Resurrection and the day when every tear will be dried (Revelation 21:3). Lent offers us a time to open our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper, so that when Good Friday and eventually Easter comes, it is not just another day at church but an opportunity to receive the overflowing of graces God has to offer.” (written by Sarah Phillips – Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer)
What does that mean for us at Hazelwood? We began Lent with our Ash Wednesday service, which focused on our mortality and the need for penitence. You may notice there is a lot of purple around the church now. Purple is the liturgical color for the season of Lent. In regards to our music, we try to avoid any songs or hymns that refer to the Lord’s resurrection or that use ‘Hallelujah’. Sarah Phillips mentions the joy that’s associated with Advent. Lent is the opposite when it comes to mood. Lent is more somber, almost melancholy, because the Lenten journey ultimately ends at the cross with the death of Christ. But we must push through the darkness of Black Friday to glimpse the Son rising on Easter Sunday.
~Marianna Gill, Worship Coordinator
