Last year I wrote about the start of Lent and now it is Lent again. Sometimes time seems to go in a straight line one day to the next. Other times it runs in a cycle. Days, weeks, months, years that repeat themselves. This cycle is reflected in the life of the church where we gather to worship on each Sunday and where we follow a progression of seasons from Advent to Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
 

There is yet another kind of time, God’s time. God is actually timeless, beyond time itself, without beginning or ending. But God acts in the created, time-bound universe. The Incarnation when God became flesh was one of those moment’s of God’s action as was the Crucifixion and Resurrection. These are the kairos moments. The word is placed on Jesus’ lips when he announces, “The time [kairos] is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). As you can see in this quotation, the kairos moment requires a response from people–repent and believe the good news.

Lent, part of our ordinary time, points us to this special kairos, the time when God acts for our sake. It calls for a response for us, just as Jesus did–repent and believe the good news. We need this ordinary time to remember the extraordinary thing our Lord did for us in giving his life for our sake. We need to trust what he has done for us, and to turn ourselves away from sin and toward him.

May you find these days of Lent blessed.

Read Mark 1:9-28 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1%3A9-28&version=NRSV