Welcome to Lent. Where Do You See Jesus?
Welcome to the season of Holy Lent 2025. Each year the Church invites us, “to the observance of a Holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word”. This year the Lord has laid on my heart to focus our Lenten observance around the further, overarching discipline of cultivating a curiosity that asks, “Where do you see Jesus?”
Years ago, I met regularly with an older evangelical pastor named Tom for spiritual direction. My monthly sessions with Tom were straightforward. He would ask me how I was doing and to catch him up on everything that had happened in life since the last time we met. And then he would simply ask, “And where did you see Jesus in the midst of all that?” It was a great reflective question that caused me to pause every time and consider: where did I see Jesus through the ups and downs of a busy life’s blessings and challenges? Where did I see Jesus in my church and ministry, in my family, in the community? It has been a tremendously beneficial discipline that I have held onto through these years to ask and to name and list: where do I see Jesus?
So, in a similar spirit, this year I invite you to a corporate Lenten discipline of identifying where do we see Jesus? To help us with this, I want to focus on 4 specific areas to be looking.
Where do I see Jesus in my circumstances?
Where do I see Jesus with me in my home?
Where do I see Jesus in the broad locale of our Bangor area parish?
And where do I see Jesus in the Scriptures?
I want to invite you to engage on a daily basis with the same discipline of examen that I benefitted from in my spiritual direction. I want to invite you to pause sometime each day, (at midday or before bed may be most helpful) and prayerfully ask that question: Where did I see Jesus in my circumstances today? Whether we had a good day or a hard day, Jesus will be with us, so look for him and name it. Likewise, ask, where do I see Jesus in my home? Whether we live alone or with others, Jesus is present with us in our homes. How can we observe Lent and cultivate an awareness of Jesus’ Presence with us in that place?
Third, prayerfully ask, where can I see Jesus in this parish community? Traditionally a parish was not simply a local congregation, it was a geographic area. The parish church existed to serve the spiritual needs of the whole parish area. In the spirit of that understanding, it is our ministry as a parish church to pray for our parish region (not just those who gather with us from across the region to worship). Furthermore, especially in this late winter, early spring season, it can become all too easy to give way to despair and see only the ugliness. The weather is ugly, the slush and mud is ugly. The poverty and addiction are ugly. But Jesus is still present in this place. So, let’s commit to the discipline of trying to spot him, naming and celebrating his Presence in this place. There are strong spiritual forces of darkness here, but they do not own this place – Jesus does. So, where are we seeing him?
Finally, each Sunday throughout Lent we will explore the Scriptures together, as always. But this year, I will be focusing on the places we see Jesus (sometimes unexpectedly) in those Scriptures. Additionally, I would invite you to engage with a daily discipline of looking for Jesus in the Scriptures as well. Some of you already follow a daily Bible reading plan. That’s great! Continue to follow that reading plan and look for Jesus in His Word. But for others who feel daunted by such an endeavor, try starting by simply re-reading the Scripture passage we study together each Sunday in the sermon. Read it slowly and reflectively and see what else “pops out” at you each day.
To help us with this corporate focus, we have created a card that will be available beginning this Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent which will contain these reflective examen questions, list the Sunday Scriptures and also has a prayer for the wider Parish on it. Take one home, put it someplace where you will see it and be prompted to use it daily. Whatever other disciplines of self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting and almsgiving the Lord calls you to this year, please join us on this corporate journey as we seek to cultivate eyes to see. Where do you see Jesus?
+ Steve