28 Feb March Madness!

It’s time for March Madness!

This is THE favorite time of year for college basketball fans, as 68 teams make their way into the NCAA tournament “on the road to the final four” (and please don’t add any more teams to the tournament, it’s close to perfect the way it is). A lot of people “fill out their brackets” in the hopes of predicting correctly the outcome of all these games.

I’ve become a more interested basketball fan recently, mainly due to how good the Southeastern Conference is this year. There are two teams I’m particularly supportive of (“War Eagle!” and “Let’s Go Vols!) throughout basketball season.

But, there’s an added energy and excitement about the NCAA basketball tournament. One of the great thrills to this event is the possibility of an unknown team (aka Cinderella) defeating some higher ranked team resulting in busted tournament brackets and “madness” in the basketball world.

In addition to this sporting event, and more importantly, the Church is entering its own spiritual season known as Lent. Lent is a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and reflection on the life, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. Many Christians “give up” something for Lent to identify with what Jesus endured during the 40-day period of testing he endured while in the wilderness.

Perhaps you also will give thought to giving something up during this period of time. And, some folks will use each Sunday as a “feast day” to take a break from whatever it is from which they are fasting.

I’m very grateful our church acknowledges Ash Wednesday, the beginning of this 40-day season. This worship service is a deeply personal and communal spiritual experience. I encourage you be part of it as we are reminded “from dust you are, and from dust you will return.”

One of the biggest takeaways from the Lenten season is the realization of our sinfulness and need of a Savior. John Pierce put it this way, “Perhaps in addition to our accountability groups we need grace groups to remind one another that we are loved and affirmed in our failures, differences, and imperfections—keeping in the forefront that none of us has it all figured out.”

It’s easy to look around and notice a lot of non-basketball related madness going around. However, it’s important to realize there’s a lot of good to enjoy and part of that goodness is sharing life together. It’s worth mentioning that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13.8).

Make sure you’re part of what’s going with our church these next several weeks. God has been good to us. Let’s remain faithful in our witness, prayers, giving, and service to our Lord–DC