RIPPLES ON THE RIVER

 

 
If you were able to join us for worship on Ash Wednesday, you had an opportunity to walk the labyrinth.  Medieval churches in Europe constructed labyrinths in their worship spaces so that people could walk a "pilgrimage of faith" even if they could not afford the journey to the Holy Land.  Our high school youth camp constructed a labyrinth at Cane Ridge West a few years ago to provide outdoors space for this spiritual practice.

A labyrinth is not a maze--there is one way in to the center and one way out.  However, it's not a direct route--you have to trust the path.  Walking the labyrinth is a form of praying, where we lose ourselves in the journey with God instead of trying to choose our own direction.

It was appropriate for us to begin our Lenten journey with the labyrinth.  Regardless of the path we choose, the calendar takes us one way in to Good Friday and one way out to Easter.

Chaplain Gilbert helped our younger youth experience the mystery of the labyrinth at ROC.  If you watched our young people, you noticed how they raced through the path at first.  Then they began to slow down and appreciate the journey on the fourth or fifth trip through the labyrinth.

I always get frustrated going in to stores during Lent.  As soon as Valentine's Day is over, merchants put up displays for Easter.  It's a race to rush spring so that we can skip to new life.  However, the church calendar and Montana winters remind us Easter comes in God's time, not ours.

If we accept the blessings of the Lenten season and take some time on the path with Jesus, we'll have a deeper appreciation of God's promise of life. 

Let's enjoy this journey and each step on the path.

In Christ, Ron