Lent is the season in which we repent of our failure to be the people God calls us to be. We think about what is really important in our lives. We re-prioritise and turn back to God. Intentionally we try again in our relationship with God, with one another and with the planet too.
So there are two questions to ponder and to pray. What is the one thing that stands between me and God? What is the one thing in my life that this Lent I need to change?
The story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness reminds us that there can be many different things that stand between us and God. ‘Command this stone to become a loaf of bread,’ cries the devil. Here Jesus is tempted as many are tempted with a life of plenty. ‘Have authority over all the nations of the world.’ Here Jesus is tempted as many are tempted with a desire for power. ‘Throw yourself from the temple.’ Here Jesus is tempted as many are tempted with a life of celebrity. We can all recognise that the temptation, indeed the desire, for plenty, power or celebrity might well come between an individual and God.
Repentance and change is always possible. Each time the devil tempts Jesus, Jesus responds by turning to God and God’s values and concerns. As St Augustine writes in his Confessions: ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.’
Rev Canon Nikki Arthy, Rector
