We mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Lent is that period of time when we take stock, spiritually. Lent is that one season in the year when we take seriously our responsibility to examine where we are on the journey we embarked on at our baptism. It is a time to deepen our relationship with God by digging deeper – setting aside time for prayer, fasting and acts of generosity so that we may draw closer to God.
Jesus himself spent forty days in the wilderness – fasting, praying, and resisting the temptations that came his way. Jesus’ time spent deepening his relationship with his father as he prepared for the work of ministry, is an invitation to us. An invitation to spend time too with God our Father so that we may grow into his likeness and be transformed by his love.
Our relationship with God matters even more through the relationships we share with each other. This lent I am encouraging people across the diocese to read our Lenten book, “The Every Day God” written by Jonathan Arnold, director of The Social Justice Network. This book reminds us that the God we serve is right here in our midst with outstretched arms patterning compassion and generosity, and all that it means to be our brother’s keeper and to live in unity one with each other.
I encourage you to read this book and discuss it with friends or a group from your church. But don’t just treasure what it says but instead go out and be God outstretched arms and pattern it with compassion and generosity.
May this Lenten season, over the next forty days, be a fruitful one for you.