Chaplains' Corner

Judy Pressler
State Chaplain
3011 Halfmoon Valley Road
Port Matilda, PA 16870
(814) 692-5217
jxp2@psu.edu
 

 

"What on Earth Are You Doing?"

Have you ever said that to someone? Has anyone ever said that to you?

I said it the first time I walked into Lee’s garage and saw him carefully hanging a freshly painted bracket next to a whole line of other tiny tractor parts on his “clothes line”! He had found a neat way to air dry them without tell-tale marks or stuck-on paper.

He said at one time he found me in the living room sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by stacks of bills (already paid!), correspondence, announcements, clippings, etc. I had found a neat way to sort the “file pile” to make it easier to actually file them.

Parents often ask their children that question when they stumble upon the results of an experiment with magic markers or a young one just about to step off the top of a stool onto the kitchen counter. They tried this neat way of doing something.

Or, how about the time a new Granger cooks the meat loaf in the microwave and we all know it’s always been baked in the stove oven before....(just had to throw that one in!)
It is a simple enough question. But let’s look closely at it this way: “What on EARTH Are You Doing?”

That puts a whole new spin on it. We are (will be by the time the February Advocate reaches you) into the Lenten Season. This period of forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter is one of the most important and significant of the Christian year here on earth.

It begins somberly with ashes and ends triumphantly with the resurrection! But what on earth do we do in the "in-between time?" Some people eat all the donuts they can on Shrove Tuesday which coincides with the Mardi Gras Carnival. Some people give up chocolate, give up soda, give up alcohol, forego other kinds of special treats, and have meatless meals one day a week. Interestingly, the word "shrove" is an old English word that means to repent and the Mardi Gras Carnival symbolizes “the removal of meat.” So...if you stretch your thoughts, you can see how all this makes sense...sorta.

But the Lenten Season is not about standing on a corner with bragging rights to how strong you are by depriving yourself of something you probably don’t need anyway to survive here on earth!.

There is another way to observe the Lenten Season on earth. It is a great time to first look inward for penitence, to admit and confess your sins, to come empty- handed to God because there is nothing valuable enough on earth that we can bring to “buy” forgiveness. We must begin with the humility of ashes confirming that we are sinners and need forgiveness. Then, we may have forty days (God willing) to study, recognize the temptations we face every day for what they are and pray about them. Jesus knows what’s coming at us and he is counting on us to remember how he handled temptation here on earth.

I think we can look at the Lenten Season as the “Show and Tell” period of our Christian walk. We must first get our own house in order by getting genuinely connected to God. His Holy Spirit is with us right here on earth. We must step out of the ashes leaving our forgiven sins behind and move on to do what Jesus instructed us: Spread His Word.

Do we have some fences to mend? Do we have some friendships to cultivate? Do we have some neat ways to share God’s love with others? Do we have an exciting story to tell about the meaning of the Lenten Season that might be what he/she is looking for? Can we see the needs of others and do something about them? Can we help someone out of the ashes, take their hand and show them the way?

How will you answer the question “WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING” this Lenten Season?

Judy Pressler

State Chaplain