First Sunday in Lent
About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” At once the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him. After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”
Mark 1:9-15 (CEB)
Have you ever felt like you’ve just awakened to a brand new reality? Like you were asleep but didn’t realize it until you woke up?
Was there joy in the awakening? Sorrow? Pain? Excitement?
Sometimes it can feel like we’re sleepwalking through the world, allowing events and circumstances to carry us along until we’re forced into a reaction. Sleeping is comfortable, safe, and predictable. Waking up can feel vulnerable and dangerous.
But the world needs us to be awake. To be aware of the world around us: the suffering, the injustice, the oppression. It’s the only way we can really see the beauty that’s out there.
This week at New Wineskins, we’ll begin our observance of Lent with a conversation about waking up as a spiritual practice. We’ll talk about the reasons we’d often rather stay asleep, why the world needs us to be awake, and how we can stay awake in the face of so many realities we’d probably just as soon sleep through.
Please join us this Sunday, Feb. 18, in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we kick off our Lenten journey of Self Awareness down the road toward Easter and Resurrection.
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
This week’s discussion video from The Work of the People asks us to consider what waking up means for each of us individually and collectively.
Click here to view this week’s discussion video (email address required)
Lent 2024: A Journey Into Self-Awareness
Many of us have experienced Lent as a season of repentance and self-sacrifice…of giving something up or letting something go.
But what if we saw it instead not as self-sacrifice, but self-awareness? What if we use these six weeks as an opportunity to know ourselves better and seek the kind of transformation that Divine Love invites us into?
This year for Lent, we’ll be exploring various spiritual practices designed to awaken us to who we are and what our place might be in the ongoing love project of transforming the world.
Celebrate Black History Month!
February is Black History Month and we’re celebrating by highlighting the voices of Black faith leaders by sharing inspirational thoughts about antiracism and building better communities and a better future. Each week we’ll post a video from The Work of the People that invites us to think more deeply about racist systems and structures and how resistance can lead to redemption.
Click here to view this week’s Black History Month video (email address required)
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