I read this week the following quote: “Lent reminds us as we listen to the stories all around us about the goodness of life and the certainty of death - whispers of eternity”. It caused me to stop and think about our life’s walk with Jesus.

This first week of Lent places us with Jesus in the wilderness where Jesus is hungry, alone, tested. The tempter came to him not as a cartoon character, but as an exploiter of weakness – saying Take the shortcut. Prove yourself. Grab control.

Jesus refuses. He chooses the way of trust.

There’s something of Lent in the hidden training of our Australian Winter Olympians: the early mornings, the repetition, the falls and resets, the quiet courage far from the cameras. They don’t train for the podium; they train to become resilient having been formed for the moment when it matters.

Lent is not about impressing God with our deprivation. It is about being formed by grace, making room for spiritual growth so the life of Jesus can take deeper root in us here and now, and carry us toward everlasting life, face to face. I hope that you are able to join me at 2pm every Wednesday in Lent, and Pastor Abbey at 7pm every Wednesday evening in Lent beginning 25 February at the Church, to go deeper into scripture with a creative Bible Study.

So keep Lent simple. Listen for whispers of eternity in the ordinary goodness of life. Choose one small act of worship and/or one small act of service. This is the direction of Christ: not life to death, but life now to a richer fuller spiritual life full of new beginnings, step by step, on the road to Resurrection Sunday.

Blessings — Rev. Carmel Sheraton