Shrove Tuesday is celebrated in this county by eating pancakes. It is the last day of "fat eating" before the fasting period of Lent. Tradition has it that the origin of pancake racing is from Olney (Bucks), when in 1445, a woman from Olney had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday, and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell ringing to call the faithful to church for confession. The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron.
When was the last time you were so desperate for confession!
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3: 19 [NIV]
Lent is traditionally a time of reflection; it allows us time to honestly lay before God, our struggles, addictions and failings. Our confession and repentance leads to release and freedom, which allows us to grow and improve our relationships with God and one another. Let’s take time to examine our lives, take time to see where we are resisting Christ’s call, and bring these failings to him. It is often the case that a profound experience of repentance is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit acting in our lives - if we will let him. And if we do “God is faithful and will forgive us our sins”..
Understanding that we are forgiven, restored to the overwhelming love of God, is one of the most powerful acts of the Holy Spirit as we come to him in worship. - Perhaps that’s why the woman from Olney was in such a hurry.
Guy Mowbray
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