Our Lenten journey has begun! We have basked in the joy of Christmas and Epiphany and once again turn our thoughts inward.
As in Advent, we are asked to examine our lives and prepare our hearts for salvation. But while the Advent season always seems to rush towards Jesus’ birth, Lent is drawn out, and it can feel like an eternity waiting for that Easter morning, especially in years when our winters are harsh and gray. But just as the spring is rejuvenating because of the dark and cold winter months, so too is the Joy of Easter morning more exuberant because we must remember and relive Jesus’ last days and death on the cross.
This season asks us to wrestle with difficult and uncomfortable questions. The most obvious and yet probably the most difficult one being: Why do we follow this person called Jesus? We can choose to sacrifice something like chocolate, or carbs (might do me some good), and likely stumble as we’ve probably already failed those New Year’s resolutions!
Or we could take the more difficult path of searching our hearts for the answer(s) to that question. And furthermore, how do we live a live centered around, and in example of, Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for humanity by laying down his life for his friends?