Invitation

Today is popularly known as Fat Tuesday....the last day to really indulge before we begin the solomn preparation time of Lent. Tomorrow, in churches around the world, many will join in some type of Ash Wednesday service as they begin this time of contemplation.



Today in our Chapel Service at the Seminary we were invited to further reflect and prepare by going forward for prayer and to be anointed with oil.



You've likely experienced in worship an invitation to come forward at some point....maybe it was during a prayer hymn, a closing hymn or just at a point in the worship service of quiet reflection. Perhaps it was, as today, an offer to come to pray or be prayed for. Maybe it was to come and offer yourself in contemplation or repentance, or to simply light a candle. Possibly it was an invitation to proceed forward to be baptized, anointed with oil, or, as for many around the world this week, to receive a small symbol of the cross in ash upon one's forehead.



Most have experienced one of these types of invitation in worship. Many times I have received such an invitation of one type or another, and many times I have seen the response of the congregations. At some times the invitation is met with fidgeting and reservation, with perhaps a couple brave souls going forward, while other invitations are met with an vast orderly outpouring of the congregation from the pews.



Today, however, I witnessed a response that I had not yet encountered. Today the invitation was made for those in Chapel to go forward for prayer and anointing, and true, there were a few fidgeters, and a sizeable orderly outpouring, but there was also something else. Today, as the people proceeded forward, I was able to witness multiple persons who boldly climbed over pews, and behind other persons, in answer to this invitation....not out of disrespect, or impatience, but out of a need or desire to personally respond while respecting the worship and reflection of those seated around them.

This led me to reflect, not on the principles of orderly worship, but upon just how strongly do I desire to respond, not only to invitations to go forward during worship but also to God's ongoing invitation to me to move forward in my walk with my Creator and Lord. What a better time than during Lent, as we witness Jesus' procession towards the cross, to contemplate our own procession towards God through our personal walk and witness as Christians in the body of Christ, the Church.

What's your response? Are you a fidgeter, maybe part of the orderly procession, or perhaps responding to boldly and directly to God's invitation upon your life?

What is your response during this Lenten season?