Authentic Christ-Centered Worship, Study, and Sometimes Just Plain Silliness!

A Time to Mourn

Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer A wise man once wrote these words: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance… (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).” The clock is ticking and the times are changing. What time is it getting to be? A time for weeping or laughing? A time for mourning or dancing? A time for feasting or a time for fasting?.... Many people wonder why the Church observes Lent. They question why we emphasize repentance, self-discipline and fasting during this time. They scratch their heads at the somber tone, the subdued worship and our graphic emphasis upon the sufferings of Christ. “Why do you act so serious in Lent?” they ask us. “Aren’t you glad about the victory our Lord won for us?” “Of course,” we answer, “but there must be a season for weeping.” We must take our sin seriously and take the death of Jesus seriously in order for our joy to be mature. Lutherans are Christian realists. We know and rejoice that Jesus won the final victory. No doubt about it. But we still feel the heat of the current battle. We still experience the crushing effects of sin in our lives. To under-rate the impact of human suffering and paste on an artificial grin is to be out of touch with reality. We have victory over death, to be sure, but we still must attend the funerals of our loved ones. We still grieve the losses that we constantly experience. We still age and weaken and eventually face the prospect of death for ourselves. This is not senseless morbidity. It is realism. We grieve like others, except that our grief is sweetened by the hope we have of eternal life in Christ. There is a time for dancing, but Lent is a time for mourning. We mourn our sins because they separate us from God, from other people and from our true selves. We mourn for the suffering of humanity because this is an indicator of how deeply corrupted God’s world has become on account of human rebellion. We mourn the death of Jesus, for He Himself faced the cross with human dread and experienced deep in his heart our alienation from God the Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Easter is coming. The Queen of Feasts. It is the single most meaningful reality we know. Jesus conquered death for us by rising on Easter morning. But let’s not jump to the party prematurely for Easter was preceded by much sorrow. Before there was an empty tomb, there was first a cross. We can’t just skip the gore and blood and agony of Good Friday to go straight to the euphoric joys of Easter. Lent is not depressing. It entails being honest with ourselves about all the things which separate us from God and all the things which suck the joy out of our lives on the earth. Honesty. Good ol’ fashioned humility. Genuinely acknowledging our frailties. That is what Lent is about. Confession, as they say, is good for the soul. Lent is good for the soul, mind and body because it is a time to get some much needed weeping out of our system. And going through the depths of Lent, we finally arrive at the bright morning of Resurrection to forget our sins and praise God with overdue exuberance. Lent and Easter go together. We need them both. And together, they are more refreshing to the heart than a sunny spring morning. May God bless your Lenten observance. This article was written by Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer (Admission Counselor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN) when he was the pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, PA.
A congregation of the Wyoming District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod serving the students of the University of Wyoming & The Wyoming Technical Institute