A Lenten Reflection

shared by Holly Tepe

I am a “cradle Episcopalian”.  Church is a natural part of my life, like breathing.  My first church was St. George’s in Maplewood, NJ. I remember painting crèche figurines in Sunday school to take home.  The church seemed so big to me and the organ playing the postlude (probably Widor) was terrifying, while I clung to my parent’s hands for dear life!  Kind little old ladies would sometimes give me pretty flower s…

Then we moved to Summit, NJ and our new church was called Calvary.  At church on Sundays, following the sound of my mother’s jingling charm bracelets down the aisle to our seat; we became familiar with the joys of hiding under the pews, much to our mother’s chagrin!  Happily for her (and the other parents), we were all sent off to Sunday school before the sermon.  I didn’t stay in the church for a whole service until I started singing in the St. Cecilia girls’choir.

I took my first real piano lessons in the choir room with our beloved organist, Howard Vogel.  My elementary school was across the street from the church and I would often go there after school and wander around the empty building, sometimes helping the Altar Guild to polish silver.

We were expected to give up something like candy for Lent.  It was a Season that seemed inexplicable, long and gloomy, and it wasn’t until I was older and had learned more about it that I began to understand what it meant.  Jesus had become a hero to me and I loved the pictures of Him with the little children.  He spent 40 days in the Wilderness, fasting and praying in preparation for His ministry, this was the length of Lent.  In French, the word “lent” means “slow”.  The actual meaning comes from the Old English word “lencten” meaning spring or the lengthening of days.  I thought that “slow” worked better!

The end of Lent was Holy Week and Good Friday.  I just couldn’t understand why it was called “Good” when it was the day that Jesus died!  I learned that it had to be” Good” because Jesus didn’t stay dead.  He rose on Easter, as the Light of the World.

When I grew up Lent was a blessed time for reflection and developing a closer relationship to God.  Giving up candy was just a small part of it.  Jesus was still a hero, but He became closer and dearer, a loving Friend, Someone to count on in dark times, Someone to mourn for on Good Friday and Someone to rejoice with on Easter….Lucy and Susan Pevensie, riding joyfully through Narnia on the risen Aslan’s back.. ”Redemption and Release”.