Emmanuel Lutheran Church has invited representatives from five world religions to help answer the big questions of "Life, Death ... and Therafter."

Dr. Anil Mehta of Chinmaya Mission Bakersfield will give the Hindu point of view March 24 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church.

By Kristie Coons

Christians worldwide have embarked on a spiritual journey, the 40 days of Lent. It began with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 17 and continues to Holy Week (which includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, April 1 through 3). The journey culminates with the joy of Easter morning, April 4.

Those 40 days can provide an opportunity to ask life’s Big Questions: How should death be regarded? What follows our physical departure from our bodies? How should life be lived in view of how we answer those questions?

Emmanuel Lutheran Church has invited local representatives from the world’s major faith traditions to share their religion’s answers to those questions common to us all. The public is invited to attend a five-part series, “Life, Death … and Thereafter,” at 7 p.m. Wednesdays from Feb. 24 to March 24, to explore world religions’ answers to the world’s big questions.

The 40 springtime days of Lent are a direct reference to the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert wilderness before their entry into the Promised Land. Lent’s 40-day spiritual journey is also related to Jesus’ 40-day sojourn in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. Christians can also reference the 40 days and nights of rain in the biblical story of Noah and the ark, before Noah was delivered to dry land, and the 40 days and nights Moses spends on Mt. Sinai with God.

The link between all these biblical periods of 40 is that they represent a wilderness sojourn; a time of need, of struggle, of testing, set in a “desert,” a place of extremes, where choices are clear-cut, and may represent whether one lives or dies. In the Bible, such a “wilderness experience” can also be considered a period of preparation for some special action of the Lord; a time of grace. In the wilderness, Jesus faces the temptations offered by the devil as a Jew, countering each temptation with references to Bible verses from the book of Deuteronomy, part of the Jewish Pentateuch.

Christian or Jew, Hindu or follower of Islam, Buddhist, agnostic or atheist, we all may eventually face our own “wilderness experience.” For each of us this can be a retreat experience, time we set apart to ask, to consider, to respond to the basic questions of life. What will we experience at death? What follows death? And, how should we live our lives, in response to our faith tradition’s beliefs about death and what follows?

Please join in Emmanuel’s “wilderness experience” by reflecting with local spiritual leaders on those big questions common to us all, but answered differently by each of the world’s faith traditions. A soup supper at 5:30 p.m. is followed by the program at 7 p.m. Each spiritual leader will share a portion of his or her worship practice and answer questions. Refreshments will follow. The programs will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 1900 Baker St., at the corner of Jefferson and Baker. Parking is off Jefferson, behind the church.

Schedule

Feb. 24: Temple Beth El, Rabbi Cheryl Rosenstein

March 3: St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Father Joseph

March 10: Islamic Council of Bakersfield, Emad Meerza

March 17: Shimmering Void Zen Center, Rafael Espericueta

March 24: Chinmaya Mission Bakersfield, Dr. Anil Mehta