[Editor’s Note: Hi everyone … Rob, your humble Lenten Devotions blog editor here … with, not a pause in the Lenten Devotions, but a slightly different approach to them. Last year and this year, my resolve was to let the writing speak for itself, and not to jump in with “Editor’s Notes” or similar, every time I thought it would help, or explain things, or whatever. And, sure enough, the writing has more than spoken for itself.
[But a lot of the things which you have read, and which you will read between here and Easter Sunday morning, will have been written in a time before COVID-19.
[Now, here, in eastern/central Massachusetts at least, let’s just say there’s quite a different focus than there was in the week or so leading up to Ash Wednesday.
[Or is there? Lent is a time of introspection, among other things; aphoristically we try to decide what to give up for Lent (even as we may be going about that process for reasons that have deviated somewhat from what may have been intended originally!) … and boy, have we given up a lot this Lent, and have we ever been forced to consider differences in our lives and changes we have to make right now, for public and personal health reasons.
[So … are the readings out of date? Or are some of them more relevant now? Are the readings mere nostalgia? Or are some of them reminders that, COVID-19 or not, some things still apply, thanks very much? You can be the judge. I’ve had feedback that suggests that people have gotten a lot out of this series, this year and last; and I humbly appreciate the feedback – and I trust that people will continue to do so. There are a lot of remarkable writings waiting in the wings, scheduled for the appropriate days.
[There are, in fact, still days which are waiting for their writers … so if you feel so inclined … and if (this is not meant to be a toss-off joke OR an insensitive remark) you have more spare moments than you did a month ago! … and you feel so moved, by all means jot some thoughts down and send them my way, and we’ll turn you into a published author yet! Many of the most effective and affecting “LentBlog” writing has been done by people who don’t list WRITER as their occupation on their income tax forms. Just about all of us, in fact.
[So here’s a piece, which you can read by clicking or tapping on the hyperlink below, which wasn’t written for this Lenten Devotions collection but may just be the thing, for this moment, a moment in which several large regions of the United States have been “locked down”, a moment in which we’re all trying to figure out what next?, and a moment in which many of us are beginning to wonder if any good can come of all this.*
[It’s written by a good friend of mine for her own blog. She’s a professor of music at the University of Delaware (some of you will have heard me speak of her in various contexts). We were drum majors together at UMass a few years ago, during which time, at one point, she looked at me and said, “I’m not really a practicing Jew. I’m a rehearsing Jew.” So, while she’s not of this specific denomination, she very often says and writes things that transcend such distinctions and demarcations.
[This blog post of hers does feature one teeny-tiny word that the FCC would flag; but if you can see past that (or even if you can’t), I think you may appreciate her thoughts in this moment.
[Here’s the link: https://sarvblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/benefits-of-our-worldwide-time-out/
[Again, thanks for reading; thanks for considering contributing to our writings; and as best you can, please stay healthy and in touch.]
-Rob H.
_________
[*Well, one other thing you can do is watch Sudbury UMC’s pre-recorded worship service, beginning tomorrow. As our staff reported in its recent eMail message, “you will be able to watch it on Sudbury TV on Comcast channel 8 or Verizon channel 31. You can also log in to their website at https://www.sudburytv.org to view it at your convenience through their ‘Video on Demand’ option. A listing of program schedules can be found on the website.” This particular week, Pastor Joel speaks to the question of whether any good can come of all this…]
Sudbury UMC Lenten Devotions 