Today is the first Sunday in Lent. For those who are not aware, the word “Lent” comes from an Old English word for “springtime” – a season when new life is wrested from the clutch of winter. I the same way, for Christians, Lent is our time for renewal and revival – a sort of spiritual springtime.

Most of us have been through enough “Lents” to know that complete transformation rarely occurs, although we are aware that with God all things are possible! Never the less, whether we are able to achieve a complete transformation, or not, Lent is an opportunity for repair work in a specific area of our life that might need reconstruction.

Maybe you have doubts about faith or questions about church traditions and practices. Lent is a time to resolve the doubts and get some straight answers.

Maybe you have been carrying personal wounds that have been eating away at you. Lent is a time to find ways to let the healing begin!

Maybe your spiritual life is stuck in neutral and you want to be able to pray as easily and spontaneously as Jesus did. Lent is a time to really begin to experience prayer.

Each of us has some part of life that needs a lift and a little remodeling. It is less a time for pain and punishment than it is a time for healing.

Nobody is exempt, this is the leveling significance of the smear of ashes: beneath all of our differences, we all need renewal.

By making a conscious effort to come into the presence of God, in prayer and quiet contemplation, by setting aside time to read the bible and share with other Christians, we open ourselves to the healing power of God… so may you know His transforming presence through your Lenten “discipline”.

Love and Blessings

Reverend Shan.