Sometimes the season of Lent can feel like a “downer” of a season. Don’t get me wrong: self-examination, confession, repentance, and dedicating ourselves to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and giving are important. These things help us prepare ourselves to fully recieve God’s abundant mercy through Christ’s death and resurrection during Holy Week.
But even as we go through the season of Lent, that doesn’t mean that God’s mercy, faithfulness, and provision are absent.
In our Gospel lesson this past weekend, we discovered that even in less than ideal circumstances, God was closer than it may have appeared. In Jesus’ baptism, God tore through the heavens – tearing through the barrier between God and God’s people, and whatever inhibited the kingdom of God from enveloping the whole world. Then, as Jesus was driven into the wilderness, even there God’s provision was closer than it might’ve appeared as Jesus was waited on by the angels. And finally, as Jesus came out of the wilderness, the first thing he publicly proclaimed was that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”
In six short verses in Mark, it’s clear that God, God’s provision, and God’s Kingdom has come near. It’s already happened, and at the same time, we await the fullness of God’s salvation to all the world.
So then, if all these things are as close as they are to us, how does that impact us? Well, for God, God’s provision, and God’s Kingdom to be as near to us as they are will inevitably shape our lives and our perspective of the world. But in addition to that, in response to God’s nearness, now we are called to repent. All too often “repentance” is a word that is forgotten. But this Good News of Jesus Christ – the nearness of God – is to change us, completely! Which, ultimately, is what repentance is all about. Repentance literally means to change one’s mind, one’s heart, and one’s being. Not just once, but as a way of life, and as a posture in which we present ourselves to God as a grateful response.
So as we continue into the Lenten season, consider what it would mean for you to turn yourself to Christ as a way of life. To do so might ask something of us. It likely won’t be without some growing pains (as we’ll discover next week in worship). But in turning ourselves to Christ, we will be turning ourselves to the only source of life and hope.