Time Keeps Slipping Away

When I was in 6th grade, my elementary school presented “A Computerized Christmas” as our school Christmas production. In the show, Father Time laments how quickly the seasons and holidays pass each year, singing, “If we only had more time…” He enlists the help of a new machine, sold to him by a computer salesman, to get things back on track. Everything seems to be going well until it doesn’t and the Easter Bunny and the Wicked Witch arrive and all kinds of mid-1980s craziness ensues.

These days it does seem that time keeps slipping away. It seems like we just celebrated the Twelve Days of Christmas and yet Ash Wednesday is right around the corner. Yes, Lent begins early this year on Feb. 14. It’s not the earli-est date that Ash Wednesday call fall on—that’s Feb. 4, which will next happen in 2285—but it is earlier than last year. Even with an additional day in February this year, Easter will also be earlier than it was in 2023, falling on March 31 in 2024.

One focus for Lent 2024 will be “Words That Last Forever,” based on the seven final phrases of Jesus, remembered and recited throughout the ages. We may find that these last words have a lasting impact, even now, for us. We will begin with the word “Forgive” on Ash Wednesday, continue with Paradise, Be-hold, Forsaken, Thirst, and Finished on the remaining Wednesdays in Lent, and continue the theme with “For You” on Maundy Thursday, “Hands” on Good Friday, on “Alleluia” on Easter Sunday. On the Sundays in Lent, the Old Testament readings in the lectionary focus on Covenants in the Hebrew Bible. As we transition from the Seasons of Advent and Christmas to the Seasons of Lent and Easter, please join us at Calvary.

Blessings,
Pastor Tom Pairan

P.S. Because time keeps slipping away, we’re also looking ahead to 2025! During our 125th anniversary celebration in 2025, our Lent theme will be the “I AM” teachings of Jesus, which are featured on the stained glass windows in our sanctuary: I AM The Bread of life, I AM The Light of the World, I AM the Door for the Sheep, I AM the Resurrection and the Life, and I AM The True Vine.

Rev. Tom Pairan
Pastor

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