Religion & Spirituality
LENT 2020: ELEMENTS When we think about “the elements” in the context of Christian worship, we’re probably thinking of the bread and the wine of the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist. However, elements simply means components. In this example, bread and wine are the physical things that make up the meal. Water would be an element of baptism. There are many more elements that make up both of these rituals, depending on the particular Christian tradition, like specific prayers, scripture readings, sayings, motions, candles, and even outfits, to name a few of these elements. I’m calling the theme we’ll be exploring this Lent “Elements” because in each of the scripture readings we’ll be exploring, we’ll examine a particular physical element of the story: Bread, Air, Water, Wood, and Stone. These “Elements” appear over and over again in scripture and play essential roles in shaping our faith and tradition.