Sundays of Hope and Joy
Those who have been following this devotional through the years have probably figured out our “vibe”—acoustic and reflective. This is an intentional choice meant to echo the themes of self-reflection and examination during the Lenten season. Sundays during Lent, though, are different.
This has to do with the way the Sundays of Lent are viewed by those who follow the liturgical seasons. In fact, if you do the math of Lent you find that Sundays literally don’t “count.” Lent is a 40-day journey, but if you look at a calendar and count from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter, you find that there are actually 46 days—and six of those days are Sundays.
The Sundays of Lent, while they are part of the Lenten season, are not considered to be part of the Lenten fast. In church tradition, these Sundays are traditionally thought of as “feast days.” Some refer to them as “mini-Easters,” and that’s a very apt phrase. They are the day the church gathers in worship and celebrates the saving grace of God in the proclamation of the Word, the lifting of praise, and the communal sharing in a remembrance of what Christ has done for us. On Sundays we all dwell richly in the story of God’s amazing love, and the joy of the resurrection cannot be completely ignored or else the story would be incomplete.
Still, the celebration of these “mini-Easters” is cast in a somewhat different light because of our journey. The themes of Lent are still there. The difference is that Sundays remind us where this journey is going. They help us remember that God is unfolding a much bigger plan. They offer us hope and joy.
That is our approach here during the Lenten Song Reflections—Sundays are all about hope and joy. On these days the “vibe” changes. May our hearts rejoice as we celebrate God’s promises!
Scripture for Meditation:
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
—Romans 5:1-5 (NRSV)
Song: Great is His Mercy (lyrics here)
Questions for Reflection
What are some ways during this Lenten journey that you can mark Sundays as different, as days set apart to dwell in the hope of God shown in the cross and the empty tomb? Are there some Scriptures, prayers, songs, or other intentional practices you can build into these “mini-Easters” as a way of celebrating?
What do you think Paul means by “hope does not put us to shame?” What is the relationship between hope and shame, and how is that relationship important for us during our Lenten journey?
Spend some time reflecting on these words that appear in the chorus of today’s song. Sit with each for a bit, and offer your prayers of gratitude to God for the ways you’ve experienced them. Offer your prayers to God concerning those which may seem far off in this season of life. Offer your intercession to God on behalf of those who need to experience these attributes of God in a new way right now.
—Mercy
—Love
—Kindness
—Faithfulness
—Goodness