Anglican Parish of Mt Vincent & Weston

A note from Fr Keith – Transfiguration and Lent 1A March 6, 2011

The last two weeks have been full of sorrow. In Libya, civil unrest and a dictator gone mad declaring war on his own people. In New Zealand, an earthquake that has destroyed much of Christchurch and has claimed at least two hundred lives. In Afghanistan, the death of two of our soldiers. In our own parish, there has also been misfortune. Where is God in all of this?

The simple answer is that God is with us, suffering with us. Jesus, in sharing our humanity, shared both the joys and pains of humanity. God shares our joys and love, but also at times like this shares our pain, our humiliation and our sorrow. This week we enter Lent, and prepare for Easter. We remember at this time the sorrow and humiliation that awaited Jesus on the cross. We remember at this time how Jesus shared our humanity, and shared both our joys and sorrows, not as a spectator on humanity, but as part of humanity.

As we enter Lent we grieve for those who have died in Libya, and New Zealand, and Afghanistan, and in our parish. We pray for those who mourn, and we mourn with them. But we also look past the cross of Good Friday to the resurrection of Easter Sunday; we look past the sadness to the joy. In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Philosopher says there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (3:4). In saying this, we think of Lent and Easter. At this time, we weep and mourn; but we have faith and hope that in the resurrection of Christ there will eventually come a time to laugh and dance.