And so the earth turns and tilts, and soon enough spring comes. No, it's definitely not here yet. This week winter bowed its neck and slapped us one more time and even spit a little snow, but its days are numbered. The earth continues its turning, and soon enough nature will show its colors.
The holy story also turns from one scene and season to another, from Bethlehem and its winter star to Galilee and its sun-warmed roads. There, do you see? Keep your eye on the Teacher-the one who walks along scattering the Word and gathering a crowd, the one who heals the broken and pricks the healthy. The Teacher has something to say to you.
So, are you broken or healthy? Or maybe a little of both. As spring calls forth nature, so Lent calls us out of our routines and assumptions. Are you happy? Are you bored? Do you have questions too long unanswered or answers too long unquestioned? It's time to search your soul and the Word and the world and the heart of life and see what you find.
During Lent we allow ourselves to question and pray, to listen and speak, to seek and find. We look to the one who walks the road, who scatters his word, who calls his people to himself, and we seek from him a sign, a direction, an answer, a question.
It all began last night, Ash Wednesday, with words and music and ash-smudged foreheads, with prayer for a new season even as winter blustered outside. Now, ahead of us: forty days (not counting Sundays).
I invite you to put on your walking shoes and join us in worship over the weeks ahead. We're going on a road trip. During this season, we will walk with Jesus all the way to Jerusalem. With Luke's Gospel as our roadmap, we'll listen and watch as Jesus tells his stories and touches souls.
You want to give up something this season? How about Sunday mornings at home? Come take a walk with Jesus. Who knows where it might lead you?
