LENT: Taking Up Faith Practices
Adapted from ELCA’s Living Lutheran blog
Ash Wednesday (March 2, 2022) marks the beginning of Lent, a season when God calls us to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection. The imposition of ashes – when you receive ashes in the sign of the cross on your forehead – sets the tone for Lent. Each moment you encounter your reflection, your ashes are a striking reminder that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19b). But the cross, a symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion, offers hope.
Similarly, in baptism, you received the sign of the cross on your forehead. Many of us begin our Christian life with baptism, called “to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” In the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – our parent church), we describe these instructions as faith practices to guide our daily living. But what do faith practices mean? And how do we practice them?
This Lent, as you begin your journey toward the baptismal waters of Easter, we at ELCA invite you to take up faith practices as a spiritual discipline.
Lenten resources…
- ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving study and prayer guide
- My Song Is Love Unknown, the Luther College 2022 Lenten Devotion
- St. Olaf College Devotions and Prayers – scroll down the webpage for Lenten Devotions
- St. Olaf Fall 2022 Devotion Guide – while the guide isn’t specifically for Lent, it does offer contemporary short devotions and prayers particularly suited for students
- Lenten Devotionals from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
- Loose Ends Lenten Devotion Emails – Sign up through California Lutheran University
- Several Synods of the ELCA have come to gather to offer a daily Facebook devotional page entitled Lenten Photo a Day
- Lords Prayer Words: Traditional & Contemporary Prayers
- Faith Practices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Living Our Baptismal Covenant – a downloadable resource on faith practices of our church
