Dear Friends in Christ,
Having been away for two weeks, I haven’t yet attended our Wednesday night study group during Lent. But I have been reading what attendees have been discussing in this year’s UCC Lenten Devotional, “Into the Deep.” Have you?

If you haven’t, you’re missing out on some thoughtful reflections that can help you prepare for Easter. One example is Rev. Vince Amlin’s reflection entitled, “Are you Chicken?” It’s based on Luke 13:31-32 & 34-35. This text describes the moment when some Pharisees informed Jesus that Herod intended to kill him. To them, Jesus said, “Tell that fox, I am casting out demons and performing cures, and in three days I’ll finish my work.” Then, he cries out to all: “Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Of this text, Amlin suggests we’re often so “seduced” by the comforting metaphor of Jesus as a mother hen that we miss his challenge and “take our eye off the fox.” In other words, we don’t name and confront the sources of evil in our lives – evil which sometimes lurks within us and sometimes in others – especially in those to whom we give too much power.

The ultimate point here is this: those who follow Jesus are called to identify and take on evil despite any fears they harbor because they are held securely by Jesus’ – and God’s – love. The Lenten question is: to what degree will we trust in this love and set the stage for Easter’s coming?

Blessings of Faith,
Pastor Ed