Pausing on the Road to Jerusalem – A Lenten Study
WEDNESDAY NIGHT STUDY SCHEDULE PREVIEW April 9: The Place of Wealth April 16: The Significance of Palm Sunday
As a Lenten study, Pausing on the Road to Jerusalem ends with anticipating, indeed aching for, Easter Sunday.
But Easter is another story and another study, albeit one that casts its light back over the preceding Lenten dim. The scriptural passages selected explore the great themes of Lent. Most of the Gospel readings are from Luke’s Gospel, enriched, as is often the case in Lent, by several from John’s Gospel. The great Lenten themes found in this study include: Temptation, Atonement–Why the Cross?; Theodicy–Why do good people suffer?; The place of wealth, and; The significance of Palm Sunday.
Neither Lent nor Advent is exactly “biblical,” of course. But the days they each await–Easter and Christmas–recall events central to the story of Jesus in the Gospels. Over the centuries, Christians have found it helpful to prepare for the keeping of these two central biblical feasts of the Christian year with seasons that offer a shared discipline to ready our hearts and minds to celebrate our Savior’s birth or resurrection.
So, the very act of study in Lent is Lenten; it cannot escape the shadow of the cross and invites us to engage the ancient Lenten themes of sacrifice, self-examination, and confession.
We hope to see YOU on Wednesday nights this Lenten season as we journey together.