To Savor Loss: A Lenten Meditation

SCRIPTURE:  It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7: 2 ESV

THOUGHT: Generally we don’t think of savoring tastes that are bitter. But this is a season that invites an Easter People to dwell in Lenten realities – a season in which the bitter herbs were eaten yearly by the ancient Hebrews to commemorate Passover. An unsavory flavor to remember a sweet deliverance. Mourning, says Ecclesiastes, has more to teach us than feasting.

At Lent, we Christians ‘savor,’ or dwell in loss, although it may seem absurd to the rest of the world. Some of us put ashes on our forehead, some commit to a fast from food or other pleasure to touch loss as we walk again the path of the cross. Some gather in small groups or attend special Lenten services, particularly during Holy Week, and some read devotionals such as this as we journey from loss to hope. We fellowship in his sufferings, and in so doing participate in that oldest of Judeo-Christian rituals, anamnesis, the Greek word for recollecting or remembering the past. We remember God’s saving deeds of the past, re-collect them if you will, as a way to retrieve hope for the future.

That’s what I hope to blog about throughout March. Lent officially began this time last week, with Ash Wednesday, and it will end on Easter Sunday, April 9. I hope you’ll join me for the journey from bitter to sweet, from loss to hope. Let’s “lay it to heart” as the writer of Ecclesiastes suggests.

PRAYER: Father God, as we walk again the journey toward the cross, remind us of both bitter and sweet — your saving deeds in history, and in our own lives. Help us find hope for the future as we remember.