Root And Branch Church

Preacher: Virginia White Reading: Mark 8: 27-35 It might be a surprise that “Lent” has an etymological connection to the word “lengthening.” For many of us, if Lent means anything at all, it evokes ideas about mortality, self-denial, and “giving something up.” But these 40-days don’t end with the cross on Good Friday, they lead to the resurrection on Easter. Just as the world around us welcomes longer brighter spring days, luring back the tree buds, and coaxing the flowers to open in bloom once again, this spiritual season is meant to draw us into new life. Perhaps reframing the practices of Lent from the harsh self-disciplinary image “giving things up,” to the looser invitation to “let things go,” to enter into the messiness, maybe even lostness, of that space beyond our self-management, might be just the posture we need to discover new life on Easter morning.