The beginning of Lent

Good morning to you all and welcome to this time of prayer to begin the day.
Let’s start with praise to God for his unrelenting goodness to us all.

As this day brightens, forcing away the night,
we give thanks to God for keeping us safely in sleep and bringing us gently to wakefulness.
Let us be grateful for the compassionate companionship
offered to us without requirement for payment or pledge.
May we grasp the opportunity brought by the light
to move and speak and live in the light of God’s eternal mercy and love.

Amen

This is the beginning of Lent, the time of preparation for the greatest festival of all, Easter Day.
Mark’s Gospel opens the season.
It begins when Jesus is baptised – when he is commissioned to live
and give a life destined for an unearned death.
Jesus was so moved by the experience that he had to go away alone to be able to take it all in.

Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. As he was coming out of the water he saw the heavens break open and the Spirit descended on him, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my beloved Son; in you I take delight.’ At once the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness and there he remained for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among the wild beasts and angels attended to his needs.

Mark 1 :9–13

Two things stand out in this story for me –
Jesus had to take time out of his normal life to prepare for the future
and, despite the loneliness and danger, God provided relief.

God of the wilderness give us clear vision in this solitary time. Help us find your peace in our daily life as we navigate the insecurity of our duties today. Help us meet new challenges, new people, new ideas rooted firmly in the knowledge of your careful protection. Give us space before sundown to have five minutes being totally engulfed by you.

Amen

The tradition for Lent, even among secular society
has been to abstain from something personally enjoyable for the duration of the season –
chocolate or a glass of wine perhaps.
The objective to become more Christ-like,
to focus on his life and works, to contemplate God’s role in humanity,
has somehow become obscured by doing something difficult to gain righteousness.
It’s common in ordinary conversation to ask, ‘What are you giving up for Lent?’
Giving up for Lent becomes an action of pride, not humility.

A new challenge is to ‘take on’ not to ‘give up’:
to take time for an unrequired act of kindness freely given to someone else.
A real act of personal effort.
Sometimes this is called pay it forward –
having received a kindness, some act of grace,
to give to another unasked in the understanding, the hope,
that the recipient will pass on the kindness to some other unknown.

God of the wilderness, who attends to all our needs,
send your blessing to everyone who ministers to us and for us –
health workers, home delivery workers, public service workers, teachers and helpers of all descriptions.
Give them courage and keep them all safe.

God of the wilderness, look on your people enduring illness, facing death.
Give them all a calm spirit and a heart full of you.

Help us all hold tight to you today.

Amen

So, Friends, instead of giving up let us take up a fresh challenge this Lent to pay it forward.

Cheryl Montgomery

Have a day full of God’s blessing and come safely to evening in his care.