Grace Notes 2022-03-30

It is not too late to salvage the observance and discipline of the Lenten Season. As a congregation we got off to an excellent start with a well-attended Ash Wednesday Service. This was followed by a meaningful Prayer Around the Cross Service. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the Midweek Service on March 16 during the 2nd Week of Lent. Last Wednesday, frankly, was minimally attended.

As a handful of participants joined in the Vespers Prayer Service with a Meditation on the First Part of the Small Catechism, the Ten Commandments, it dawned on me that the two previous years we had to forgo the Lenten Midweek Services. In 2020 the Lenten Season was interrupted by the outbreak of the COVID Pandemic. The following year in 2021 while still exercising some restrictions we provided devotional material for the home in lieu of the Midweek Service. I am afraid we have gotten out of practice.

Of course, changes in the Sunday Divine Service and the Midweek Service offerings are not the only distinctives belonging to the 40 Day Season of Lent. The spiritual disciplines of repentance, fasting, prayer, and acts of love (charity) are also typically intensified. There is also the long-held practice of giving up something for Lent

These exercises do not only belong to a portion of the year, but the Lenten Season affords a chance to concentrate on the basics. Think of it as annual Spring Training for a game like baseball. As some people are preparing for incorporation in the Church by Baptism at the Easter Vigil, all of us can be renewed in our Baptism. We can concentrate on the fundamentals, so that walking wet in our Baptism can become more natural.

I want to emphasize that it is not too late to join the Spring Training. There is still time to benefit from the emphasis. There are two more midweek services, and the observances of Holy Week. Get on board with the Lenten Journey.

Since You Asked…

What is the purpose of the Psalm Reading? And why do we often sing (chant) the Psalm? “The appointed psalm is sung as a meditation on the First Lesson, a response to it, and a bridge to the Second Lesson. … Hearers of the lessons need a chance to assimilate the First Lesson before the Second Lesson begins. The required use of a psalm between the lessons provides for the restoration of psalm singing to its traditional place in the life of the church and gives the worshiper the opportunity to participate in the singing (or reading) of a portion of Scripture…” (from “Manual on the Liturgy” companion to the LBW, from Augsburg Pub.)

Chanting can be thought of as “exalted speech”. It sets the speech apart from regular speech and the slower cadence allows for reflection.