One of my favorite movies is the film from 2000, Chocolat. Besides being titled
after one of my favorite things (chocolate) and co-staring two of my favorite
actors (Jonny Depp and Dame Judy Dench) it is a brilliant movie that deals with
questions of faithful living. It is set at the beginning of the season of Lent
in a small French village which has long been proud of its moral rigidity. The
movie begins with this voice-over, “Once upon a time, there was a quiet little
village in the French countryside, whose people believed in Tranquilité -
Tranquility. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of
you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to
forget, someone would help remind you. In this village, if you saw something
you weren't supposed to see, you learned to look the other way. If perchance
your hopes had been disappointed, you learned never to ask for more. So through
good times and bad, famine and feast, the villagers held fast to their
traditions. Until, one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the North...” That
sly north wind brought a chocolatier and her daughter who shake up the village
and force the other characters to ask questions about faithfulness and meaning.
The movie takes us from a faith which values black-and-white
morality to a faith which values asking important questions, seeking truth and
meaning in unexpected places and creating community which values abundant life.
In the climactic scene the young priest, whose sermons had until this point
been crafted by the local mayor, speaks freely and honestly on Easter morning:
“I do not know what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to talk
about the miracle of our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't
want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean,
you know, how He lived His life here on earth. His kindness, His tolerance...Listen,
here's what I think. I think we can't go 'round measuring our goodness by what
we don't do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I
think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who
we include.” True, there is no mention of Jesus and his resurrection, so you’re
not likely to hear this particular sermon from my pulpit on Easter morning. But
he does speak resurrection truth. When we value death, then we measure
ourselves and others based on laws meant to deny and exclude. When we value
life, the new life given to us by the resurrected Christ, then we measure
ourselves and others based on love, creation and inclusion.
So here we are at the beginning of Lent which can be a very
stark, very rigid time of year. And granted it is a time that the church has
set aside for self-examination and repentance. But at our best, that
self-examination will open our minds and hearts to the ways in which we do not
live the abundant life which Christ desires for us. And perhaps in these next
weeks, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we might learn to ask the difficult
questions about faithfulness and meaning that lead us into greater relationship
with God and with one another and with all creation.
To that end, the team assembled to plan worship for Lent and
Holy Week have chosen a theme for our worship together: Season of Growth. In
our meeting in October, we talked about what the season of Lent is and what it
could be for us. The group wanted to create space for our community at Peace to
spend time in personal and corporate examination, to ask questions of meaning
and purpose, faith and values.
Each week, beginning with Ash Wednesday, we will look at a
particular topic: Thankfulness, Service, Witness, Rebirth, Justice, and Sacrifice.
Our Wednesday and Sunday Bible Study and Worship will concentrate on these
themes in our personal walk with Jesus and our life together in the body of
Christ.
I pray that this season of Lent may be a time for reflection
and rebirth, growth and sharing so that we may emerge with the resurrection of
Easter transformed and renewed.
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