From Pastor Kristen
It was the second Sunday of Lent last year when we last worshipped together in person: March 8, 2020. And now it is Lent again. We’re approaching one full year of pandemic life; one full year of online worship. And unlike last year, we enter this Lenten season fully aware of the wilderness we face. So, as we enter this Lenten journey, already bruised and broken, I invite us to remember the promise within this journey: That God calls us beloved and accompanies us on our way.
In last Sunday’s gospel reading (Mark 1:9-15) Jesus is named Beloved and then accompanied in the wilderness by the wild beasts and the angels who minister to him. He is not released from the struggle of being tempted by Satan, but he is also not left alone. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection we, too, are named beloved in our baptism. This does not mean we will be free of struggle or exempt from experiencing pain. But it does mean that we are never alone in those times of despair. Jesus himself walks with us.
Ready for Lent or not, already bruised and broken, let us enter this season trusting in the promise that God calls us beloved and Jesus himself walks with us through it all – from death to life. Amen
|
