Be Prepared for Life to Be Good

Meditation for the Third Sunday of Lent

Isaiah 55: 1-9; Psalm 63: 1-8; I Corinthians 10: 1-13; Luke 13: 1-9

Many of us believe that if we thoroughly examine our lives during Lent, we will discover sins we need to repent for. This aligns with what much of Christian tradition says is the purpose of Lent.

When we carry out such an examination, we will certainly discover that we naturally tend to concentrate on ourselves and are inclined to fear, leading to hate. Regrettably, if we halt our reflection here, as many believe is the purpose of Lent, we might conclude that it is our nature to anticipate the worst and then either continuously repent or ultimately succumb to sin.

The problem is that we sometimes forget during Lent (and the rest of the year!) that Gospel means "good news." And this goes for Lent as well.

Therefore, if we delve even more deeply into the Gospel message, and even trace back to the very start of the Biblical message, we will recall that we are made in God's image. Therefore, our Lenten meditation should guide us through repentance to the realization that it is also in our nature to love our neighbor, embrace the future, and, therefore, prepare for a good life.

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Be Prepared for Life To Be Good

We believe and act as though

It is our nature to focus on self

It is our nature to fear what we don’t yet know

It is our nature to prepare for the worse

And yet we know we are born in God’s image, thus

It should be our nature to love our neighbor

It should be our nature to open ourselves to the future

It should be our nature to prepare for life to be good

This we know from the lips of the prophet

This we know from the songs of our past

This we know because God so loved us

Thus we know to repent

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Photo by Jametiene Reskp from unsplash