A liturgy for Lent

Just as spring is a time of intense agricultural activity after the barrenness and apparent death of winter, so Lent is a time of transition for the land of our hearts, when God is bringing out of bitter coldness a ripe and fruitful harvest.

The starkness and sometimes painful experience of winter is a necessary preparation to allow us to step forth courageously into the new life that spring invites and that Jesus offers to us in Easter.

Symbolic actions

Either

Choose a piece of land associated with your church, such as a garden (or gardens) belonging to church members or communal ground that needs renewal. Each week during Lent, work on the ground so that it is cleared of weeds, stones, rubbish and other debris in readiness for planting. Invite the congregation to plant and tend it so that it will bloom later in the season.

Or

Display a plant pot to represent the various stages of preparation of the land in readiness for Easter. A new instruction is given each week to show the development of this idea.

Lent 1 Matthew 4.1-11

Symbols: Display a pile of stones next to an empty plant pot. Alternatively, show a picture of the waste land or neglected garden.

Prayer

We come with mixed emotions, expectant of new life,
yet reluctant to experience the process of change,
wanting to set out on the journey,
yet afraid of where we might have to go.
Break our hearts of stone that we might praise you, O God.

In dry barrenness and weary longing we come before you, O God,
in all our need, not knowing what to say.
Teach us wisdom to return to the story of the Spirit deep within,
to hear with openness the truth from those who are familiar
and to listen for new perspectives, that we might indeed hear your voice.
Break our hearts of stone that we might praise you, O God.

Deepen our hunger and thirst for justice,
that all might know your love.
May we pour forth the water of compassion
on all who are marginalised and experience rejection.
Break our hearts of stone that we might praise you, O God.

When all seems empty and you appear far away,
thank you for those who encourage and support us
through laughter and tears in simplicity and practical love.
May we hear and respond to your prompting,
that we might minister to others in their desert emptiness.
Break our hearts of stone that we might praise you, O God.

Lent 2 John 3.1-17 or Matthew 17.1-9

Symbols: Display blindfolds or black and white cloth juxtaposed. Place a lighted candle beside them. Fill the plant pot with soil or show a picture of the waste land cleared of rubbish and ready to be planted.

Prayer

Take away the scales from our eyes
in relation to every aspect of our lives,
our relationships, our families, our work -
and give us a new way of seeing things,
a new attitude and new way of being.
Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Forgive us, Lord, when we are blinded by certainty
and unwilling to entertain other possibilities or perspectives,
when we do not recognise your face
or hear your voice because it comes from unexpected sources.
Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Plant in us the courage to own responsibility
for our part in wider systems
and structures which are unjust and sinful.
Grant us humility to recognise that
unless we work actively to change
that which is not of God,
then by default we collude and contribute to all
that is carried out in our name.
Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Groping in the dark, we need light.
We need your strength, Lord,
and a community in which your love is kindled in our hearts,
where we experience transformation
and become bearers of your light in the darkness all around.
Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Lent 3 John 4.5-42

Symbols: Display a large jug filled with water or a small water feature. Plant seeds or bulbs in the plant pot and water the soil in it.

Prayer

The woman at the well was faced with the real meaning of her life.
Her failure was accepted and God worked with her failure.
When we are faced with our own truths,
may we not be crushed or lose hope
but rather realise our need of you
and celebrate the gift of forgiveness and new life that you give.
Thank you, Lord, for your life-giving Spirit.

Let us never tire of the daily journey to the well,
of dealing with the daily realities and needs of life,
of living and working every day with the same people.
Rather than look for the big things,
or wait for others to change,
may we start to look at the world with fresh eye
and begin to open our own hearts
to new beginnings and ways of relating.
Thank you, Lord, for your life-giving Spirit.

Lent 4 John 9.1-41

Symbols: Place a large bowl of fruit or flowers beside the plant pot. Mix some soil and water to make mud.

Prayer

Darkness is part of life, an essential element for growth,
without which we cannot become all that we are meant to be.
Sometimes, though, it may seem like a powerful intruder
into the reality of life.
Help us to accept darkness as an important aid
rather than a hindrance to growth.
Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see.

Thank you for all those aspects of our lives which give us our identity -
the parents who brought us into life,
the families and communities in which we were raised,
the races and cultures we represent,
the languages we speak,
the faith we have been given.
But we have also received aspects of blindness
and superiority that are not of you, Lord God.
May we allow others to rub the mud of their truth in our eyes
so that together we may come to recognise you in those around us,
and challenge our inherited ways of seeing the world.
Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see.

Grant us the light of your perspective,
your compassion and your wisdom
that we may see the true need of others and respond accordingly.
Release us from any blindness or arrogance
that assumes we know what is best for others
without dialogue or engagement.
May we always recognise the dignity and inner light
that others hold out to us,
and welcome the new awareness that their light reveals.
Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see.

Lent 5 John 11.1-45

Symbols: Display a bowl of salt water, a large pile of stones, a dish of perfumed oil, and the plant pot.

Symbolic actions

Invite each person to come forward, weigh a stone in their hands and replace it. If appropriate, invite any who so wish to pray for help to remove an obstacle to faith, or for courage to continue in patience within a situation until God's appointed time.

After each has taken part, anoint them on the hands or forehead as a sign of God's blessing and the promise of resurrection.

Prayer

Lord, there are times of utter emptiness
when we wonder where you are.
Help us to continue to proclaim the truth of your love
when we encounter the reality of death in our lives,
the pain of separation and the grief of endings.
Help us to trust and not be afraid.

May we walk in true solidarity with those who suffer,
and have the courage and strength to listen to deep pain
without fear or judgement and without turning away.
Like you, Lord, may we cry out from the depths of our being
and pour out the reality of our hearts before you,
knowing you are with us.
Help us to trust and not be afraid.

When the journey seems too long
and we waver in resolve,
when our vision is dimmed
because of the stones that block our path,
when we begin to lose hope because worries bind us,
And when we come towards the end of the journey,
bless us with faith to see that you are there to welcome us.
Help us to trust and not be afraid.

Lent 6 Matthew 21.1-11

Symbols: Display an empty rope harness or picture of a bridle, evergreen or palm branches, and the plant pot.

Prayer

Jesus, you ask only for that which we can give.
May we willingly take on the bridle of service
and embrace the bit of docility,
that we may be used by you
in whatever way you wish.
You give us very clear directions for our lives.
Help us to follow the path that you reveal
and not run away from the cross,
which will bring us new life.
Hosanna to you, Lord Jesus.

May we always proclaim the wonders
of your unconditional love for all your people
in all that we say and all that we do.
Let there be no difference between what we proclaim and who we are,
so that your name may be honoured
and your love might be revealed
in the marketplace of our lives.
Hosanna to you, Lord Jesus.