Dear Parish Family:

Lent is upon and with Lent we begin the most important penitential season of the church year. Now is the time for us to ponder the sacrifice of our Lord, and what it means to our lives. So often we hear Christians speak of Salvation, and yet we hardly stop to think about what this really means to our lives. It has become to easy to believe that Salvation is a matter of the after life, that we are saved in order to avoid eternal damnation, and that we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior because he is our ticket to Heaven, and our guarantee against an eternity in Hell. Personally I am tired of hearing this foolish and shallow rhetoric; it serves no constructive purpose other than to instill fear in the hearts of people, the very thing Christ came to destroy. When we get caught up in rhetoric of this type what do we gain? Sadly nothing, and the last thing we experience is Redemption -- where’s the Good News in this? It is no wonder there are millions of former church people walking around with deep wounds in their hearts, wounds created by zealots who in their self-righteousness zeal have actually turned away from the "Way," and have accepted instead a façade with no foundation in the Way, the Logos, the Incarnation, because the Way too often becomes a frightening and real thing. Jesus spoke about the blind leading the blind certainly we have more than our fair share of this in our time.

During the season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, we will begin a journey into the mystery of Redemption. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, defines redemption as "an act of redeeming or the state of being redeemed; deliverance; rescue." This is a word that intrigues me in the theological sense, and to be quite honest, I don't think the definitions offered here truly touch on the implications of Redemption for the human journey. Another definition according to Random House, is "deliverance from sin." This definition is in keeping with the teachings of just about any church, but it still falls short, and it elicits feelings of guilt, yet another destructive force working against the very process and mystery of Redemption. So what is Redemption?

Are we in need of Redemption? Did Jesus come merely to save our souls from eternal damnation? Or does Redemption have a deeper and more profound meaning for our lives?

Jesus show's us the Way, for he is the Way (John 14). As the story of Redemption unfolds, we are told of a Messiah who came to bring us good news: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19). His message was one of hope, of restoration for our lives here and now, that was the "Good News" it didn't have to wait for an afterlife! How this message got reduced to a scheme whereby we manipulate the lives of people to keep them living in fear and guilt is yet another sign of our need for the very Redemption that Jesus comes to offer. Certainly our capacity for destruction has found a place in our lives, a very comfortable place, we often call this "sin." The truth of the matter is that sin is deception, and it can be so subtle in it's deception that it can divert our attention away from the Way in such a way that when we think we are sinning, we are not; and when we are not sinning, we think we are. This may sound confusing let me explain. Jesus was crucified because the religious authorities considered him blasphemous, he was in their eyes a sinner of the worse possible kind. From our perspective a great "sin" was committed when Christ was crucified, it was a destructive unjust act, but from the perspective of those who crucified him, no sin was committed. So although they did not think they were sinning, in reality they were. By the same token we have the story of the woman who was hemorrhaging and approached Jesus in a crowd and touched the hem of his garment (Mark 5:25-34). The woman felt guilt, for she violated a written law, women did not touch men, and vice a versa, it was a sin to do this, thus she had sinned. But Jesus heals her. Jesus breaks through the deception of her apparent sin, because in reality she had not sinned. Learning to tell the difference for our lives is part of the redemptive journey.

Redemption is about coming back to the Way, that's how it is, a restoration of our sight, the ability to see through nonsense and know when we truly sin and don't sin. Like the Jews of Christ's time, we too have become obsessed with law (primarily so called "moral law"). As Christians we add an extra layer to this deception because we feel we have one up on the Jews by virtue of being Christians, the "new chosen people," and this only makes our deception worse. Christ comes to proclaim freedom to the captive, but the way back to the Way is not easy, it is not magical. It is not as simple as saying that Christ is our Lord and Savior, and using this as a guarantee for salvation. The way back to the Way is arduous, and it requires lots of heart wrenching soul searching. Redemption requires going places we would rather avoid. Jesus did this, his 40 days in the desert is a metaphor for this, it was a dreadful time in the life of Jesus, but in doing so he showed us the Way. Jesus walked the Way of the desert, he the Redeemer was redeemed.

During Lent, we too will walk the Way of the Desert we will journey with Jesus through the ordeal ahead. The journey will lead us to the Cross the most dreaded place of all, for every ounce of our human instinct tells us to avoid that place, but love casts out all fear and Jesus loved like none has ever loved.

I'd like to invite us all to the observance of a Holy Lent. Take advantage of the Lenten programs announced in this issue of the Log, join us for weekday Eucharist's on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM and Thursdays at 6:30 PM. Lent will culminate with Holy Week, and then the hope of the Resurrection will be upon us. Until then, we are called to ponder the mystery of our Redemption, walking the Way of the Desert. The following words come from a work known as "The Gospel According to Lao Tzu" it is a work by Chinese and Greek Orthodox Scholars. I believe it is very relevant for the journey ahead.

The 40 day journey ahead may seem long, but in the end it will be very short. Redemption comes with a price, and yes our Lord was sacrificed to show us the Way. His sacrifice was a gift of love, immeasurable love, completely selfless love. In doing what he did, he taught us not to run from our fears. In doing what he did, he conquered death’s power to rule over our lives. Let us walk the journey ahead in holiness remembering that we are but ashes, and unto ashes we shall return; but etween what we are, and what we return to is the gift of life, the gift of Redemption.

Have a Blessed and Holy Lent

In Grace,

The Rev. Wilfredo Benítez,

Rector