For this year, Ash Wednesday falls on 18th February. Ash Wednesday is a significant event as it marks the beginning of the season of Lent (the 40 days before the victorious Easter).
Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality, that all of us will leave this world someday.
It is also a time for repentance. We grief over our sins (ashes are used in the Old Testament to symbolise grief and repentance) and recommit ourselves to follow Jesus Christ.
May we experience the love of Christ afresh this season of Lent. 🙏
In the Bible, horses are depicted as creatures of strength and courage.
As we look at this verse, we are reminded that yes, we have to do the work God has entrusted to us.
But at the same time, we are working in partnership with God. He is the sovereign God who invites us, His children, to join Him in His work to proclaim the salvation He gives to a whole world full of sins.
In our daily living, let us lean upon His wisdom and strength. Not our own’s.
Luke 22:19-20 teaches us that the Eucharist is the source of Christian friendship which is shared in the Christian community. Eucharist was a sharing of a meal among believers.
From the Gospel stories, many wonderful encounters happened when Jesus Christ was eating with His friends. Jesus ate with sinners. He spent time with them. It was at the Passover meal that Jesus called His disciples as His friends, and not servant. It was also at a meal that the disciples of Jesus whom Jesus met on the road to Emmaus recognised Him. Likewise, when we share ameal with our friends, our friendship is renewed and deepened.
For John Wesley, what binds Eucharist and friendship together is the experience of Presence of God. In Eucharist, we are invited not only to share the bread broken for us, but to share our brokenness; the friendship we share invites us to share not only the wine pour out for us, but to pour ourlives for each other as well . At Eucharist, Jesus’ invitation for us to remember that His body broken for us and His blood poured out for us takes on new meaning on what it means to be a friend to one another.
Reference:
Ripple, Paula. Called to be Friends. Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 1980.
