First Sunday of Lent

Yes, I know I’m a day late. But I’ve been visiting my grandchildren and their parents and, well, some things take priority for grandmothers. So here it is…

“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:15

Repent

Jesus said these words at the beginning of His public ministry. Repent is to change one’s mind, literally. It is to be transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit so that the life we lived before, the self-indulgent way of life, the self-involved people we might have been, the selfish hearts we protected, are dead to us as we come alive in Christ.

And believe in the gospel
When we believe in the gospel (that is the Good News of our redemption by the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity) we find true happiness, peace, and contentment, even joy. It is a joy that comes from the certain hope that is Jesus. He is our hope. He is our life.

What happens in the time of fulfillment

Our own wills becomes aligned with His when we die to ourselves and we find ourselves working to advance God’s Kingdom now and when we do everything for the glory of the Lord.

The words at the top of this entry are a direct quote from our Savior and it is an imperative for our own sakes. Not for God’s, who needs nothing, who would have existed even if we never did. The Divine Creator of all loves us and we make Him small and sometimes irrelevant or non-existent in the way we live our lives.

It should be a life of gratitude and one that is fruitful and nurturing for the souls of other people. It is a life free of worry and full of life giving words and actions for the good of the other, who ever that might be – friend, family, stranger, enemy.

The kingdom of God is at hand

Let us pray to be the kind of penitent person Jesus expects us to be. Let us work to make our corner of this world shine like Heaven on earth.