February 20thBack to the Woods
To my dear TFMC family,
For the better part of the last 15 years, in the weeks leading up to the season of Lent, I’ve traveled to
a house in the forests of Northern Saskatchewan. I’ve been going long enough that I’ve witnessed
the forest surrounding the house change over the years. When I first went, I was astonished and
comforted by the thick, lush net of branches and foliage that covered the ancient rocks of the
Canadian Shield. It reminded me very much of camping in Ontario, a big change to the prairies of
Southern Saskatchewan.
In the last number of years, I’ve watched as the forest has been scorched by, what feels like, annual
fires burning through the area. The forest is now a series of tall black poles stretching to the sky,
while the ground, when not covered by snow, is more bare and exposed rock than lush foliage. In
some respects, this is quite fitting.
It’s fitting because the traditional scripture reading to begin the season of Lent is Jesus' temptation in
the wilderness. And in the weeks leading up to Lent, I also go to a wilderness, albeit colder, and more
northern than Jesus’, and I am surrounded by friends, whereas Jesus was left to himself, by and
large. It’s fitting because Lent is a season of removing oneself from the comforts we surround
ourselves with, so we can better reflect on ourselves and our relationship with God. And, Lent is a
season about preparing ourselves to be present to the desolation of Christ’s death.
Lent is a season that’s relatively new for Anabaptist-Mennonites. Largely discarded by early
Anabaptists, because it was reflecting too much of the Catholic faith, in recent years, Lent, along with
Advent had begun to find their place back into Anabaptist-Mennonite worship. Contrary to Advent,
where the focus is making room for Jesus; the anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah; God with us.
Lent is more focused inwardly on ourselves and our humanity.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with a reminder of our mortality, ‘from dust we come, to dust we will
return,’ as the traditional litany reminds us, and it ends on Good Friday, with the death of Jesus. Lent
is a season of austerity, it’s a season of doing without as a way to help congregants focus on
preparing themselves and connecting with Jesus’ journey to the cross. We do without so that we can
focus on the Gospel Story of death and life.
Lent is also a season of transformation. In Lent we reflect on ourselves, our shortcomings, our rough
edges, and our areas of growth. And we learn new ways to live into our calling to be followers of
Jesus. In some ways, we have to go through our own wilderness time, we have to face our own
temptations before we can celebrate the transformation and rebirth of Easter.
This year, I will again make the trek into the wilds of Northern Saskatchewan, with limited contact with
the outside world, it is a chance to reflect, and as a friend of mine put it, do some ‘purposeful work.’
Meaning, chopping and hauling wood to keep warm, breaking trail through snow, and doing some of
the things that necessitate life in the wilderness. And, at the same time, it is an opportunity to reflect
on the upcoming journey of Lent, a journey that takes us to the cross of Good Friday.
Yours,
Craig Janzen Neufeld