For Christians, the walk along the way to Easter has begun. This is the period of Lent when traditionally followers of Jesus give up something to mark the season. In 2021, after so much has been lost, the churches urge people to turn away from giving up or even taking up something precious. Rather to look again at ourselves and those we love and find ways to love more.
The way starts in the wilderness – with lockdown, it seems we have all been here for ever and we are hungry for a return to what we used to think was normal. We are desperate for a hug! Lockdown has been very damaging to each and every one of us and especially for those living on their own and for our children. Please, I urge you to think about those around you who are on their own and reach out to them. Ask yourself: how best can you love the community in which you live?
Wilderness, though harsh and disturbing, was a time for the early Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, to develop into a new community, to order their lives in better ways and to grow closer together. In the Bible it tells us this was a period of 40 years! We hope this will not happen to us. Yet, it is a time for reflection and a chance to reorder the way we live our lives. Like the chrysalis, within which the caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly, the wilderness, our lockdown, is a new hope to make that change and transform our communities so that everyone is seen as precious and loved. We can do this!