Lent 2018 – Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is a love story and in 2018 it falls on Valentine’s Day.

Many people give something up for Lent, I prefer to take something up. Since the beginning of Lent coincides with Valentine’s Day I am going to take up love. I am going to try and love people more, not in an affectionate way but in a higher, quieter, more appreciative way. To love them with understanding for the task of becoming fully human, and all the challenges that involves.

I am going to write once each week during Lent about Seven Sayings From the Cross. I wrote about them in my book Who is Jesus : What is Christ? Volume 5

The sayings are the words that were spoken by the Christened Jesus during his crucifixion:

Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Luke 23:43: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

John 19:26–27: Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.

Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34 My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

John 19:28: I thirst.

John 19:30: It is finished.

Luke 23:46: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.

“It is second nature to view this crucifixion as an event outside us, but how does it pan out if it happens within our own skull? How can we understand these beings as part of our own consciousness? Here we have Christ nailed to our brain and on each side of him are two criminals, kakourgos, from kakos which means to be of a bad nature, a destructive mode of thinking, feeling and acting; and ergon which means energy or work. We could assign one side of the brain to each criminal with Christ in the centre.

If we then looked at the functions of the brain as a whole we probably find a destructive element that is always being pulled back into balance by the central Christ force to the extent that it is operative. This precisely explains the work we must do in our consciousness all day every day; always seeking the balance between the various forces.” Kristina Kaine, Who is Jesus : What is Christ? Volume 5

Painting: Metamorphosis by Iris Yves