This morning, doing some study for an upcoming talk, I came across this, “Purpose Statement” from the proposal I sent to my publisher for what eventually became “Reaching Toward Easter.”

I can’t think of a better post in “The Life-Charged Life” for today. May your journey through Lent capture the meaning, the passion, and the purpose of these 40-days – DEREK

PURPOSE STATEMENT: John 12 opens with the following words: “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him…”

Martha served, Mary anointed, Judas got upset about the extravagance, Jesus hinted about his upcoming death, and the chief priests plotted. The very next day Christ entered the city of Jerusalem as if the Kingdom had already been established… and events rushed headlong toward crucifixion.

That week, on Thursday evening, Jesus shared one last, unforgettable dinner with his friends. There was a lot to talk about, a lot to get ready for, a lot to digest; Christ’s Passion is loaded with life-charged meaning, lessons and ideas it’s critical that we think about if our observance of Easter is to have the kind of impact Jesus went to the cross to make possible.

Easter celebrates the victory of light over darkness, the fact of the sovereign realm Christ invites us to inhabit. The season of Lent is about preparation, so that we can “Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving in our hearts” and with spiritual energy formed in response to the sacred rhythms of daily observance.

But Easter, like Christmas, has fallen victim to our cultural penchant for sucking meaning from significant Christian holidays. It’s a meaning we try to replace with tawdry values borrowed from the secular world, ideals rooted in consumerism and humanism and our incessant demand to be entertained.

We routinely adapt faith and practice to fit more neatly into the cultural norm, rather than inviting Jesus to be the catalyst for change both in and through our lives. “It is too easy to replace an empty cross with a basket of candy, and too tempting to focus on the rites of spring when the price paid for our freedom presents an image we would rather not consider…” (from the introduction)

Consequently, we easily arrive at Good Friday having missed the focused opportunity Lent provides to sit at table with Jesus, like the disciples; or to walk the dusty path from Bethany to the very gates of Jerusalem, observing the Master; or to listen closely to Christ’s words of grace and hope and challenge.

This proposed book (working title “Fresh Eyes on Easter: a devotional journey through Lent”) uses John’s narrative as a daily guide. Readers will journey from Ash Wednesday through Resurrection Sunday and be challenged to live as “Easter People” in the real world.

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