This is a day for admitting the truth about ourselves and for claiming the truth about God.

The truth about ourselves is that we are rebels, and not in a way that is either admirable nor fashionable. With little to no effort whatsoever, and on a regular basis, we do what comes naturally for us as mortals: we go our own way, we “go it on our own,” we wander, we get off-track, we forget God.

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Nothing quite says “Hurray! It’s Lent!” like the Great Litany with which we began worship this morning.  Subdued yet audible groans leaked from the mouths of choir members last Wednesday as they were reminded of the liturgical way in which we would be entering into the Lenten season today.  Visitors in previous years have been known to ask with wide eyes after worship, “Do you do that long thing every Sunday?” Even long-time members who forget from year-to-year about the litany have reportedly wondered, “What’s so ‘great’ about the Great Litany?”

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The 40-day season of Lent gives us permission to lament, and not just because we maybe gave up dessert, carbs, or cocktails as our Lenten fast. But rather, because as we entered the season on Ash Wednesday, we were reminded once again of the truth about ourselves: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Sometimes we can face up to that fact, but most of the time we try like the dickens to ignore it, to deny it, or to escape it.

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