Questions

Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:38

Two nights have passed and they still remain in hiding. The Eleven sit in a room darkened not only by the lack of light, but by the loss of their Rabbi’s once constant company. His presence has been replaced with an all-enveloping depression. They had devoted their entire existence to following Him, and now all that remains is a sentiment of abandonment. Had they abandoned Him or had He abandoned them? His body was not the only thing entombed. Their hopes, desires, and lives were buried and had died along side Him.

His words hung like a wraith haunting all of their thoughts. They had nothing else to do but ponder the last tragic hours of His all-too-short life. The mysterious words that He spoke to them of His imminent end were now blatant. He had said He would suffer a heinous death. He named His accusers days before the events would transpire.

But it was His words about a cross that seemed to trouble them the most. He proclaimed, on more than one occasion, that the cost of following Him was their willingness to carry a cross every day. In fact, He had said that they had to lose their lives for the gospel, to gain life in God. But where was that good news now? His statements about the cross caused all of them to be dreadfully uncomfortable. In their minds, thieves, murderers, and the godless were the only ones destined for that specific means of Roman torture. Why would He compare following after Him to the most brutal death sentence their oppressors employed? Yet they now realized that their beloved Master and steadfast friend, the one they all believed to be Messiah, had carried a criminal’s weight. His words about carrying a cross, once uncomfortable, were now tormenting to this group of men who were gradually pining away in the darkness. They wondered what their lives were worth. What was His life worth? So here they cower as the last few hours of their beloved Jesus’ life replay in their minds over and over again.

This way of the cross began late in the evening just two nights ago in a garden called Gethsemane…

This day, I begin a journey.
I am not sure where this expedition of the heart will lead me.
Yet I am assured that You will guide my steps.
Help me, through the story of Your passion, to discover what it means
To take up the cross and follow in Your footsteps.
Help me journey from Gethsemane to the empty tomb
Discovering what it means to carry the cross and follow You.

—

Each day we will provide a “daily question” to help you navigate your Lenten journey. This is your time to reflect on how God is moving through your life.

“The cross was a place of death that brought forth life. What places in your heart need to be put to death in order for you to be living a life in Him?”

What to do?  Use up the milk, butter and eggs no later than Shrove Tuesday. Add a little flour and the solution quickly presented itself in… PANCAKES!  And usually lots of them.

How about feasting “family style” to celebrating the start of the Lenten Season?

Gather a group of your closest friends, distant relatives, chess club or bass fishing buddies for a pancake feast in your home… Celebrate the beginning of Lent in your home with your own Fat Tuesday Pancake Celebration.

From an article on Shrove Tuesday from Chatter, March 2011, written by Ryan Sanders

A quick lesson in Middle English: “Shrove” is the past tense of “shrive” which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by penance. At IBC, we strive not to shrive. We have avoided the practice of earning absolution by penance or purchase for two main reasons:

• It’s unbiblical and sinful
• It gets tricky reporting eternal salvation on a tax return

But while shriving has gone away, shrove is here to stay. IBC has adopted the old observance of Shrove Tuesday because, unlike shriving, it represents two things that we very much believe in:

• Friends
• Food

Shrove Tuesday (known to our Cajun brethren as Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent. As early as 1000 A.D., Christians gathered on Shrove Tuesday to encourage one another and to eat perishables. Since the most common Lenten fasts were from foods like milk, butter, eggs and meat, and since those things wouldn’t keep until Easter, those soiree-seeking ancestors of ours saw Shrove Tuesday as an excuse to party and make pancakes. After all, what do you get when you mix milk, butter, and eggs? Pancakes! In England, the day is still known as Pancake Day.

Many in the IBC family have found the Shrove Tuesday feast to be a rich and enjoyable time with friends and family. Will you join in? Consider a Shrove Tuesday party of your own this year on Tuesday, March 8. Invite some people over. Cook up some pancakes, perishables or pineapple. Or visit www.ibclent.com and download a PDF with other ideas and instructions for hosting your own Shrove Tuesday celebration. But whatever you do, please, no shriving. Like the good book says in 2 Hesitations: “Cease shriving and know that pancakes are good.”

Steps to a Slammin’ Shrove Tuesday

1. Decide what to feast on: Pancakes are the traditional fare, but not required. You might try your hand at Crepe Tuesday, Sausage Tuesday, or Filet Mignon Tuesday. Note: if you choose the latter, please remember to invite Chatter staff.
2. Go shopping: You could just use up your perishable foods but there’s a good chance that means you’ll be feeding guests two cups of milk and the nub of a lettuce head. Better check.
3. Invite friends: Like your small group, or some folks you volunteer with, or that family you’ve been meaning to get together with, but never found the time. Call them. Don’t Evite them.
4. Pray: Thank God for the food and friends, and ask him to use the sacrifices of Lent to draw you closer to him.
5. Feast: Heartily.

Ideas to Make Your Shrove Tuesday Even More Slamminer

1. Include non-IBCers or non-churched friends. What better way to introduce someone to the faith than in your home over a steaming stack of flapjacks?
2. Read Ps. 100. Tell your friends how God has shown himself good and faithful to you recently.
3. Discuss your plans for Lent and ask your friends to encourage you and hold you accountable in your fast.
4. Consider using your party to bless someone else. Invite everyone to bring food (possibly a food from which they plan to fast) for donating to a local food bank.
5. Use the prayer below with your group on Shrove Tuesday and throughout Lent:
   My dear Savior who is Love, fill me with Your love that embraces and does not hold back, that accepts and does not condemn, that forgives and does not retaliate, that stretches out and does not stagnate. Make this Lent a positive time, a growing time but also a reflective time to see myself as You see me. It is only when my soul is stripped and naked that I can begin once again. Help me to shed all my wrappings this Lent so that I may stand before You as You know me. Amen.

Download a PDF below with instructions on how to host your own celebration!

Shrove Tuesday Pancakes and celebration ideas PDF for adults.

Shrove Tuesday Pancakes and celebration ideas PDF for families with children.