Hope From Ashes

Read: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36

On Holy Tuesday, Jesus and his disciples return to Jerusalem. When a crowd of people were eager to speak to him, Jesus takes the opportunity to share more with them about his impending death and urge them to “walk in the light.”

The season of Lent is a communal endeavor. It gives us the time to draw closer to God through reflection and repentance. We can, as the Body of Christ, confess the ways that we have failed to be an obedient church. Then together ponder the ways that we can better abide in God’s love, hear the cries of the needy, and love our neighbors.

Lent can also be a personal endeavor– expressing itself in many ways in the hearts and lives of believers. For me, in this year, Lent looks like spending time in prayer and contemplation of what it is God is calling me to now, or as, Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “Consider your own call, siblings in Christ.” Not in a week when my to-do list isn’t so full. Not in a month or two when I finally turn in that project I’ve been working on. To borrow Jesus’s words, how can we “walk in the light” now while we still have it.

Our call as disciples of Jesus Christ is to walk in the light. We do this through clinging to whatever is true, acting in ways of love, speaking in ways of peace, and to continually discern the truth that God is calling us to now. 

The truth contradicts the accepted norms of this world. In particular, John alerts his readers to the enchanting powers of the world. There can be no compromise. Jesus is King. The emperor is not.  As we walk the final days of Lent through Holy Week, this truth both sustains and challenges us as we contemplate Jesus’ death and glorification.

Prayer:

May we all become children of the light.