Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week, we had an interesting conversation in the Wednesday evening study group. It was prompted by the Rev. Matt Laney’s devotional reflection entitled, Favoring Choice. His reflection was about Mary’s receiving the word from the angel, Gabriel, that she would become pregnant with a
divine child.

Rev. Laney wrote, “Mary had a choice. Before she became pregnant, God sought her consent”. None of us in the group had quite thought of the story in this way. How about you?

It’s an interesting perspective and especially relevant during Lent. This is a season for reflection on repenting: making different choices than we have in the past. And, it can be hard to make choices about changing our ways.

Some, of course, find this choice-making harder than others, maybe even impossible. Even our legal system recognizes that some people cannot be held responsible for their actions because they are not freely chosen.

So, it is during Lent I believe we’re called to pray not only that Christians make better choices; we’re called to pray, that if it’s necessary, God heal people so they have the capacity to make better choices. How about you? What do you believe about choice-making – and repenting – during this season of Lent?

Blessings of Choice-making and Responsibility-taking,
Pastor Ed