It's Almost Here...

We’re standing on a precipice. You can almost feel it in the air—the sense that something big is about to happen, but you just can’t put your finger on it.

This weekend, we in the church will celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It’s the Sunday when we remember how the disciples heard God declare Jesus the Son of God. From here, Jesus and his disciples will begin the long journey down the mountain to the city of Jerusalem, where he’ll ultimately be crucified, demonstrating once and for all what it means to truly and really be the “Son of God.” The church remembers this period of Jesus life in the penitential season of Lent.

Lent is a penitential time because it’s a time when we remember with especial clarity the brokenness in this world and in our lives. We abstain from joyous shouts of “Alleluia!” Our worship is more austere. We are intentional about spiritual disciplines—not in an effort to become holier, but in an effort to reflect more deeply on the reality of our existence. Lent is a time for us to focus on what makes us truly human and prepares us for the joyous Easter celebration at the end of this season.

It’s easy for us to fall into a trap, however. It’s easy to fall into the trap of obsessing about just rotten we are, how rotten other people are, and how rotten the world in general is. Although it’s important for us to remember how much we need God during this period of Lent, it’s also important for us to remember that God made us and all that is, and what’s more, when God made it, we know that “God saw that it was good.” Lent is a time for us to focus on those things that aren’t as God intends them to be, but it’s not a time to forget that God loved us and loves us still. It can be easy to focus too much on the bad in life, and forget the good.

As we stand atop the mountain with Jesus and his disciples, ready to embark on another Lenten journey, it’s good for us to step back and remember that we are children of God—called, marked, and sealed with the cross of Christ forever. God loves us, despite our failings, and nothing can change that. That’s the point of Lent—to remind us just how much we need God, but in the end, that we see, believe, and find comfort in knowing that God loves us too!

-DS