LS Spiritual Day

Empty pursuits

more heartache and burden then freedom and fulfillment

Isaiah 55:2–3 NASB95

2 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. 3 “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

1 Timothy 6:6–10 NASB95

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Mark 4:19 NASB95

19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

The burden of life accumulates and becomes heavy

We look for holy week and the passions of Christ as a way to make a sudden change in our lives wanting to break free, reconnect with God, rejuvenate our spiritual lives, etc.

It works, but how long does it last?

we have exhausted all our spiritual muscles

Pascha

Approach to pascha

Early church saw it as passage way

linked to baptism at the end of the fast

change of life from passions to the pursuit of virtue

Change in lifestyle / worldview

For there to be a real possibility of escaping this heavy laden world there must be a passage way of sorts to follow

The beginning of Pascha was passover of the Jews in Egypt

passage way from death and slavery into life and freedom

out of bondage into freedom

The fulness/fulfillment of Passover was Jesus…the passover lamb

death into life

Theological understanding of baptism

death and resurrection

put on a new man

old ways are gone

passing over into a new life

Inner room of passage