Pastoral Message: “Laetare – Sunday is for Rejoicing, Even During Lent” Week of the Third Sunday in Lent March 15, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Laetare – Sunday is for Rejoicing, Even During Lent”
Week of the Third Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
This coming Sunday, the Fourth Sunday in Lent, is known in historic and traditional liturgical calendars in the Western Church as Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word that translates rejoice. This rejoicing break in the more subdued, and traditionally penitential, tone of Lent parallels the Third Sunday in Advent, which again in historic calendars is known as Gaudete Sunday, derived from another Latin word that also translates rejoice.
According to a Catholic source I consulted online, gaudete has to do with rejoicing that is expressed exuberantly, while laetare connotes a joy of spirit that is more inward and anticipatory as we look forward to Easter. On both Gaudete and Laetare Sundays in Advent and Lent respectively, we get to take a little break from the otherwise understated mood of these two seasons.
Practically and visually speaking, Laetare Sunday, like Gaudete Sunday, employs the use of rose-colored vestments instead of the darker, more subdued purple in Lent and blue in Advent. Flowers can adorn the altar. The organ music can be more expressive.
Thematically, both Gaudete and Laetare Sundays have origins in the traditional introits (psalm refrains traditionally sung at the start of the liturgy) for these Sundays, both of which begin with the word rejoice. In the case of Laetare Sunday, the English translation of the introit reads as follows: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”
It is a lovely coincidence this year that Laetare Sunday occurs the day before the vernal equinox on March 20, the beginning of Spring. Indeed, the word Lent itself means Spring. So, part of our rejoicing is evoked because of the ending of winter and the beginning of more pleasant days, weather-wise.
But the core of our rejoicing is always centered on Christ and his victory over death in the resurrection. Truth be told, theologically speaking, every Sunday is Gaudete and Laetare Sunday, that is to say, an occasion for rejoicing in Christ’s resurrected new life and the promise that this life extends even to us. In fact, Sundays in Lent are not numbered among the forty days of Lent. In short, therefore, every Sunday, even during Lent, is a celebration of Easter and thus is an occasion for our rejoicing.
Remember the encounter between Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Jesus recorded in Matthew’s account of the resurrection. After they found the tomb to be empty, “Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’” Well, the Greek word here, in my opinion, better translates, “Rejoice!” It was this holy encounter that caused the women to take hold of Jesus’ feet and worship him in recognition that he had indeed been raised from the dead (cf. Matthew 28:1-10). It was this resurrection encounter that made for the women’s rejoicing. So, too, do we rejoice when we encounter the risen Christ each Sunday when we know his real, living presence as the gospel word is proclaimed and when we break the bread and share the cup.
So, my friends in Christ, do a little extra rejoicing this coming Laetare Sunday – but let your rejoicing be known each and every Sunday as we celebrate Christ’s victory over death week after week, year after year as we have for decades, centuries, and millennia.
Rejoicing always in Christ’s resurrected life even during Lent,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Interested in Membership at Faith-La Fe?
If you or anyone you know is curious about learning more about Faith-La Fe Church toward perhaps becoming a member of our congregation, kindly reach out to either Pastor Linman or Pastor Veronica. They are more than eager to engage you in conversation for your discernment. We are planning to receive new members at our Easter Vigil this year on Saturday evening, April 8 at 7:00 pm.
Quiet Day on Christian Spirituality and Health
As part of your discipline of taking on more opportunities during Lent, please plan to join us on Saturday, March 18 beginning at 10:00 am in the parish hall for a Quiet Day exploring the intersections between Christian Spirituality and our health. The day will include worship, conversational bible study, body prayer exercises, including some gentle yoga, a healthy lunch, and a conversation about how we may proceed in graciously supporting each other in our attempts to hold ourselves accountable for nurturing our health and well-being for the sake of the work God has entrusted to us. The day will conclude by 2:30. So that we may have a sense of how many to plan for lunch, kindly RSVP by March 16: pastor@faithalive.com.
Worship on Annunciation of Our Lord
Come March 25, right in the midst of Lent, it will be nine months until Christmas! On that day, we will celebrate a significant festival of the church, the Annunciation of Our Lord, when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary her having found favor with God whose Holy Spirit would cause her to conceive and to bear God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Plan to join us for a special liturgy on that Saturday morning, March 25, beginning at 10:00 am when we juxtapose themes of the Incarnation and Christmastide with the focus of Lent on Jesus’ Passion, his death and resurrection.
WELCA Returns at Faith-La Fe
WELCA, Women of the ELCA at Faith/la Fe, will have a Spring Tea in Faith’s Parish Hall on Saturday, March 25 at 3:00PM. Please come to join us for a celebration of rising out of the COVID ashes and giving new life to ministry of women. There will be opportunity for some Scripture Study, discussion and planning for our organization, plus tea & coffee with accompanying goodies. There are sign up sheets in the Narthex so we may prepare adequately for the attendees. There is no registration fee, though there will be free will offering to support our unit.
Lent 2023 at Faith-La Fe
Join us each Wednesday evening during Lent for a soup supper beginning at 6:30 in the parish hall and followed by evening prayer in the chapel at 7:15. Evening Prayer will be led by lay persons, and the message will be offered by various neighboring pastors of congregations in the Capital Conference of the Grand Canyon Synod. As a feature of evening prayer, we’ll commemorate holy ones and saints on our calendar of commemorations. And the overarching title for the offerings of our local pastors is: “Pardon Our Dust: Finding God in the Mess of Change.” Here’s a description of what we pastors will be up to in our messages during Lent:
You’ve seen the signs, the bulldozers, the temporary fencing; perhaps you’ve driven by a construction site and asked, "I wonder what’s going in there?” or “I wonder how long this road will be like this?” The fact is, change is often messy and bewildering, even if it’s ultimately for the good. And when our lives are the construction site—when loss or transition force us to rebuild our sense of self, or when new challenges fill the road before us with unknowns—the mess of change can cause us to wonder how God is with us. This Lent, we invite you to join us as we prayerfully engage the experience of change, together with Biblical companions who found God anew while facing into the unknown. A “round-robin” pastor exchange with other Capital Conference churches will allow us to hear from different voices each week while gathering in our home church setting. Come and share the journey!
Please know that we need volunteers to sign up to provide bread and soup for the Wednesdays in Lent. Look for sign-up sheets on the bulletin board in the breezeway outdoors.
March 15 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Patrick, Bishop, Missionary to Ireland, 461, transferred)
Speakers: Pastor Phil Gustafson from Grace
March 22 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Jonathan Edwards, Teacher, Missionary to American Indians, 1758)
Speaker: Pastor Kari Williamson from Saint Andrew
March 29 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Hans Nielson Hauge, Renewer of the Church, 1824)
Speakers: Pastors Veronica Alvarez and Jonathan Linman in a dialogue sermon
40 DAYS OF CARING FOR CREATION: A LENTEN PRACTICUM
It’s a beautiful planet, this Earth. Carl Sagan wrote of the view from space, “To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
Home to 8-billion people now, Earth is heating up and heating up fast. None of us is immune from the resulting climate changes and their catastrophic effects. It’s “code red for humanity,” says the U.N. Secretary-General.
It’s Kairos time, says the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in its draft social statement on Earth’s climate crisis, “a critical time when decisive action is required.”
This Lent, join us in taking decisive action! Featuring the Christian practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, we will renew and improve our care of creation.
Here’s a hard truth: One person’s dietary and lifestyle changes won’t reverse a drought or stop the glaciers from melting or prevent a wildfire.
But here’s another truth, a truth about faith: We don’t have to carry on with our earth-crucifying ways. Nor do we have to be paralyzed by anxiety and despair. Each of us individually and all of us together can do better. We can choose to actively trust God’s vision for creation. We can do our part, small as it may be, to keep this Earth a habitable and wholesome home.
Join learner/facilitator Sheri Brown on Thursdays at 4:00 pm MST (AZ) for six half-hour virtual workshops, beginning Thursday, February 23, as we live into 40 days of caring for creation.
WEEKLY TOPICS
March 16: Food choices and what they say about putting your money where your mouth is.
March 23: Human migration patterns and global demographic decline.
March 30: Purchasing choices and what they say about faith-based earth advocacy.
Communicating Pastoral Care Needs to the Pastors
Pastor Veronica and I are here to serve you in your times of need and opportunity, to support you through our pastoral caregiving. If you are in need of pastoral conversation or visitation, please reach out to one or both of us directly – or have someone in your family or with whom you are close make that direct contact. Please don’t assume that word of your need or desire will come to us indirectly through others. Members of Faith-La Fe attends to each other’s needs in laudable ways, which is a wonderful thing. But there have been some occasions when your pastors have not been aware of circumstances that would warrant our outreach to you. We are here for you and want to be a part of the care that our congregation offers. So, please don’t assume we’re too busy or that what’s happening in your life does not warrant our time and attention. Pastoral caregiving is central to our identities as pastors of the church. Both Pastor Veronica and I regularly monitor our emails and phone messages, so please leave messages and we’ll engage with you promptly. My contact information always appears with my signature line below.
Holy Week and Easter at Faith-La Fe
Here is our schedule for Holy Week and Easter 2023:
April 2 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
April 6 at 7:00 pm + Maundy Thursday, Bi-lingual, Holy Communion, Foot Washing, Stripping of the Altar
April 7 + Good Friday: Noon, Stations of the Cross in English, 6:00 pm, Stations of the Cross in Spanish, and 7:30 pm, Liturgy in English
April 8 at 7:00 + Vigil of Easter with Reception of New Members
April 9 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Resurrection of Our Lord/Easter Day
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Special Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
March 25 at 10:00 am + Annunciation of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 18 at 7:00 pm + Ascension of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 28 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Day of Pentecost
May 31 at 7:00 pm + Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Holy Communion
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, March 18 – a day to explore the intersections between Christian Spirituality and our health, holistically understood. We’ll consider health and wholeness biblically, engaging in some conversational bible study. There will also be time for some gentle, healthy, spiritually focused exercises (prayer that uses our body), a healthy lunch, and then also a Service of the Word for Healing with laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Claim this day as part of your Lenten discipline.
Saturday, April 29 – an introduction to Lectio Divina, or sacred reading, an approach to prayerfully engaging scripture that emerges from the Benedictine tradition and is increasingly popular today among clergy and lay audiences. I’ve done extensive work on the experiential dynamics of lectio divina, and I’m eager to share insights for your inspiration and edification. We do a modified form of lectio divina during our Wednesday bible studies, but spending the day together will give us occasion to do this prayerful form of bible reading as it is more fully intended.
Saturday, June 3 – a day to explore the spirituality of preaching more deeply, with special focus on how sermons are occasions of spiritual guidance. We’ll also spend some more time on your role as listeners to sermons, and how you can get still more out of preaching for your spiritual edification. We will touch on listening to sermons at next Sunday’s adult forum, but focusing on this topic for a whole Saturday will give us occasion to go still more deeply into the topic. On this day, we’ll also learn some of what Luther had to say about preaching!
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.