Stockton Methodist Circuit
Lent 1 Becoming aware of God’s grace
This week as we reflect on becoming aware of the presence of grace of God the lectionary takes us to Jesus in the wilderness.
I wonder what this image says to you.
Perhaps watch 40 – a cartoon interpretation of Jesus in the wilderness - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-6a25Yo2wE
We spend a lot of time at what we are called to do - giving up this or that.
At the beginning of Lent as we consider the vastness of God’s grace as we have seen it.
Where do you go to do this?
Lent
Lent invites us - Think through - take stock
Jesus invites us to hope - the hope is there is no present where God is not fully invested in this moment as the God of love
Lent gives us the opportunity to practice attending to
How I contribute in this present moment?
Ask self these and other questions that come to you
• In what ways have I contributed to the deflation of possibilities for my community
• In what ways has my religious community deteriorated over the last year and what part have I played in it
• Have I bought into the way the culture reduces people in to algorithms that predict and shape
• How have I supported systems that have monetised anxieties, commoditised everything,
• When do I see myself separated from the world or my community – how often do I think of us and them or me and others?
• How are we complicit by action or lack of it to the way we relate to the environment