It’s a time of change for the Church – a new Pope and a new Archbishop of Canterbury. But is it a time of hope, or anxiety? Do we want things to change, or stay the same? Most of us want what we find comfortable and only changes that make us more comfortable.
It’s Lent. We think about Jesus’ time in the wilderness struggling with how to fulfil his life’s work – the way that would lead to his crucifixion. Perhaps for Jesus, these 6 weeks sharpened his imagination to understand the people to whom he wanted to give life. So Lent could be a time to exercise our imagination – to try to see life from other people’s perspective: people who are hungry, homeless, abused, migrants, refugees and people who are different – black, or gay perhaps. So many people have suffered because other people have lacked the imagination to understand how life is for them.
The people that followed Jesus thought he would make them comfortable. Those that he made uncomfortable, rejected him. Only after his death and resurrection did people see that there was far more to him than they had imagined. The truth changed them – more than they imagined possible.
The Revd Canon Christopher Ivory
King’s Lynn Minster
Rural Dean of Lynn