Not surprisingly I have had several conversations with people about Lent over the last few days, and I am coming to the conclusion that we need to reassess what we teach and how we think about it. Many folk rightly see Lent as a time for confession and self examination, but the picture they have of God in this is of a controlling patriarch who demands that we come before him in fear and trembling...
Now don't get me wrong I am not suggesting that we should approach the "throne of grace" flippantly or lightly, but I don't see God as nit-picking and overbearing. I was struck by yesterdays Gospel reading by the fact that the Spirit accompanied Jesus in the desert (there is no account of the Spirit leaving him). If we are to take Jesus description of the Spirit seriously we will know that he was accompanied by the advocate, the teacher, the comforter, the strengthener, the equipper and the guide, the healer, and the one who leads in the path of wisdom....
I am also convinced that the preparation that Jesus went through in the wilderness was not simply so that he could overcome the temptations, it was preparation for the whole of his ministry, to be and to become, to step into his full potential. It helps to remember that he was fully human...
So what might that preparation time have entailed? I think it was about building his confidence in who he was, that it was about coming to know himself and learning the depth of trust that he could place in his Heavenly Father, it was a time to be built up and to receive, to be equipped and strengthened, nurtured and loved...
I suspect that we would all like to be built up, equipped, strengthened, nurtured, healed and loved, and I am sure that this is what God wants for us; so as we continue our Lenten journey yes we should examine ourselves, our lives, our thoughts, our attitudes and actions, and yes where necessary we should actively repent, but when we have done so lets not go rushing out into the the day/week, let's intentionally spend some time in God's presence allowing the Spirit to come to us and move upon us bring us the strength, grace and healing that we need...
Let's stop for long enough to hear God's voice reminding us that we are loved, loving us into newness of life...
