Lent is rapidly coming to a close. We are closer now to the end than we are to the beginning. The discipline of Lent will soon give way to the tragedy of the Passion and the joy of the Resurrection.
And Jesus prepares us for the journey.
Lent and Easter are a summary of our lives. We experience great joy and great sorrow. We can see the light of God on the face of a newborn child and we can feel some measure of His love for us in the love of those around us. We can feel lost, blind, and even the sorrow of death as we lose those we love most.
But throughout our Lenten journey, throughout our lives, God strengthens us. He shows us His glory in the world around us. He is living water that washes away the grime of our sin and ignorance. He is greater than our blindness and infirmities. He is even greater than death. Over and over again God shows us His love for us, perhaps most often in our pain and suffering.
Our God is not a distant impersonal God. He has shared our human existence, He has laughed with us, and wept with us.
And in the end, if we trust in Him through the hardships, we will know unimaginable joy when we are raised to new life. He will bring the greatest joy out of the greatest tragedy.
He has shown us He is trustworthy. The rest is up to us.
Pax vobiscum
peace be to you all
5th Sunday of Lent