From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (Matthew 16:21)
The First Sunday in Lent sets before us the question of how we deal with the hundreds and thousands of everyday temptations in our lives, most of which are habitually quite small: do we train our souls in proud self-centredness, or in the love of Christ?
Are my good deeds truly love, or merely “correct religiosity”? For fasting without mercy becomes a diet. Giving without love becomes bookkeeping. Christianity without a particular neighbour becomes … an idea.
A person who does nothing evil but also does nothing good is a zero in the spiritual economy. God did not create a single soul to be a zero. The cross is a plus sign, and a Christian is created to be the same.
See you at church at 10:00! Coffee, confirmation class and Sunday school will follow.
