Greetings …
We have entered the season of Lent for another year, coming together on Ash Wednesday, to reflect Jesus setting his face towards Jerusalem, and his followers’
intentions and actions. As we pause to think about our response, in light of this, we are invited to commit to align our own intentions and actions more closely.

As we journey through Lent as a community, we will be following a series called Everything in Between: Meeting God in the midst of extremes. We will be guided by the Gospel of Luke as we travel together, looking at many familiar stories, to witness afresh how Jesus’ ministry was immersed in relationships that often disrupted the established social, political and religious divides of his time. Coming to these texts today, we can sometimes lose the ‘shock factor’ behind Jesus’ words, but as Jesus intentionally highlights the cultural and political polarities of his time, he emphasises the radical, inclusive and surprising love of God.

As we look at these stories afresh, I wonder whether we might see how they mirror the
cultural and political divides many of us experience in our communities today. My hope is that as we listen again to Jesus, we might discover anew that the polarities of black and white are false, and that God is present in the full spectrum of colour in between. In a world where division and brokenness seems to pervade, the fact that God shows up, engages with us and journeys towards Jerusalem is a message of hope.
May you not only find hope, but be a bearer of hope this Lenten Season.

Blessings – Rev Heather Hon (she/her).