By Rev. Dr. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence
Seminary, like medical school and law school, equips students with a new vocabulary, most of the terms from Latin or Greek—hysterectomy, myocardia, amicus, modus operandi. And because so many TV shows are set in hospitals and courtrooms, most of the terms seem familiar to people who never practiced medicine or law. I don’t know any shows that have been set in a seminary (which is a topic for another day), but I’m thinking of a few words that Christians ought to know, especially this time of year.
The first one is “catechesis,” which is from the Greek for instruction or teaching. The theologian James K. A. Smith uses it a lot in his book on worship, Desiring the Kingdom. The premise behind catechesis in worship is simple: people would enter into worship more meaningfully if they understood what’s going on. (I learned this while lecturing in London years ago, students there teaching me the rules of cricket so that I could appreciate watching it on the telly with them.) For example, how many people know what the word “doxology” means? I’ll let you look that one up.
The word I have in mind is “Lent,” which interestingly enough means spring. From the fourth century on, Lent has been defined as a season of forty days leading up to Easter when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But as theologians would note, you can’t really appreciate being raised from the dead without dying. Lent takes us on a journey with Jesus all the way to the cross.
Down through history, the forty days were a time of preparation for baptism as well. That’s true in our congregation still, with the sixth graders going through pastors’ class and getting baptized on Palm Sunday morning. Even for the rest of us, Lent can be a time of self-reflection, sin and repentance some of the more traditional themes.
Last year during Lent we did a sermon series focused on the seven first words of Jesus, sayings that come early in the Gospels and summarize what his life was all about. This year we’re looking at the seven last words of Jesus, the various sayings he uttered while on the cross. Here’s the order we will be following: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” “I thirst,” “Today you will be with me in paradise,” “Woman, behold your son,” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” “It is finished,” and “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” Seems to me, we have a lot to learn this Lenten season. I can’t wait.
