The Oasis - March 19, 2025
Author: Rev. Pat Smith
March 19, 2025
I’ve always enjoyed the cartoon strip “Rose is Rose” because I could relate to Rose with all her trials and tribulations in her daily life. The above comic strip is no exception, although it doesn’t bring on a hearty guffaw, but rather a chagrin-filled chuckle, knowing that “I’ve been there and done that.”
As I’ve gotten older I have come to realize that this particular cartoon epitomizes my experience with Lent. The first frame illustrates my life during most of the year. Yes, I talk AT God, and vent many frustrations, wondering why God doesn’t make things easier. But then along comes Ash Wednesday which is always a gentle whup upside my head, making me realize that I’m talking, but I’m not always listening and really hearing God’s word for me. Then come the weeks of Lent when we all are called to focus on our relationship with God, asking forgiveness for the things we have done AND the things we haven’t done. It’s a time of introspection for me, a time for listening for what God wants me to hear. It’s not easy because I’m pretty good at ignoring what I don’t want to hear! (Maybe I’m not the only one?)
But I am nevertheless grateful for this Lenten time which reminds me to close off all the noise and distractions around me and do what Rose did: she bowed her head and said, “Sorry…can we talk?”
I’d like to close with a reading by my oft-quoted Ann Weems:
Lent is a time to take the time
To let the power of our faith story take hold of us,
A time to let the events get up and walk around us.
It’s a time to intensify our living unto Christ,
A time to hover over the thoughts of our hearts,
A time to place our feet in the streets of Jerusalem
Or to walk along the sea and listen to his word,
A time to touch his robe
And feel the healing surge through us,
A time to ponder and a time to wonder…
Lent is a time to allow a fresh new taste of God!
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