Tuesday Lectionary Leanings~~Water, water, everywhere

God of wilderness and water,
your Son was baptized
and tempted as we are.
Guide us through this season,
that we may not avoid struggle,
but open ourselves to blessing,
through the cleansing

depths of repentance
and the heaven-rending

words of the Spirit.

Amen.

This week we begin our journey through Lent, traveling to Jerusalem and the cross with Jesus. Our readings (found here ) are full of water. The Old Testament reading finds us with Noah as God places the bow in the sky as a reminder of the sacred covenant between God and the people. Noah's story is familiar to all of us; does that familiarity aid us in preaching the text or make it more difficult?

The gospel returns us to Mark's recounting of Jesus' baptism, followed by his being cast into the wilderness. Some of us preached on this text just a few weeks ago, albeit without the wilderness ending. Does that extra bit provide what we need to use it as we move into Lent? Or perhaps the letter of Peter with its reference to both Noah and the baptism will serve as your inspiration.

As we move into this new season, some of you might be choosing to go off lectionary. Do you have a special theme that you'll be using through the season?

If you are like me, you have another sermon to prepare for today before you can think too much about Sunday's. The readings for Ash Wednesday can be found here. For me, the challenge is to bring something fresh to those readings each year. Please share your thoughts on this, too, if you're working on it.

As always, we're here to share your struggles, your flashes of insight, and your questions and ponderings. Join us!

Wednesday Festival

A quick tour around the blog ring indicates to me three things: a number of our regular bloggers are attending the Big Event 4 with Carol Howard Merritt and the rest of us are preparing for Ash Wednesday and Lent. In the Episcopal Church, of which I am a member and a priest, we take Ash Wednesday seriously. The day before, Shrove Tuesday, is spent burning the palm fronds from last year's Palm Sunday. After burning them they are shifted and refined. Some of us add a drop of chrism oil to the ashes, given them more substance so they are more likely to adhere to a forehead and less likely to crumble and fall into eyes or onto clothing. Ash Wednesday services take many forms, including in the Diocese of Chicago, a liturgy for offering "Ashes to Go", resources can be found here.

Does your tradition "celebrate" Ash Wednesday? And, if so, how? Share with us, in the comments or a link to your blog, any resources you have for Ash Wednesday and Lent.

Or share with us any thoughts or ideas you'd like to see developed for Ash Wednesday and Lent.