Dear Disciples of Christ at Holy Spirit, St. Helen’s, and St. Mary’s,

“Father, it is incredible the change people will choose to avoid the change they don’t want.”

I remember those words being spoken to me by a fellow priest (now deceased) of our Diocese. I was struggling with some necessary changes at the parish I was pastoring and the resistance I myself felt about making the changes to be quite honest and that some people were having to the changes. I will fast forward and say that it all worked out well in the end.

Lent has arrived. We began this Holy Season a few days ago with Ash Wednesday. As we start this holy season, I would like to reflect on Lent and what it can be for us. In particular, I am going to focus on Lent as a season for change. Our very word, Lent, is derived from an Old English word for Springtime. Spring is a season of change. At the moment when I am writing this it is snowy and very cold, not at all springlike. But what have I been receiving in the mail? Seed Catalogs! The brightly colored pages show incredibly beautiful plants that could be in my garden. Looking over these, I start to dream of springtime changes and what my gardens could look like in the coming season.

Repent. John the Baptist’s ministry was one of calling for repentance. Prepare the way of the Lord! Turn from sin. From the very start of His ministry, Jesus likewise calls for repentance. Repent (turn from sin) and believe in the Gospel. This repentance or metanoia literally means a change of mind. In our faith, it calls for a fundamental, root-and-branch transformation of one’s mind, heart, and direction. A profound conversion. A 180-degree turn in perspective and shift from a self-centered life to one aligned with God. Repentance is more than sorrow for sin. Don’t get me wrong. Contrition or sorrow for our sin is an important part of metanoia. In confession, we pray an Act of Contrition for good reason. True repentance takes the next and essential step of asking, “what needs changed?” Not with everyone else, that is easy to point out, but what needs changed in my own heart.

Lent is a season of repentance and penitential acts. We prepare ourselves for the Resurrection of Easter through God’s grace. As yourself, what needs changed in me. As the seed catalogs lead me to dream of how beautiful my gardens can be, Lent gives us the opportunity to dream of how much more beautiful you yourself can be. What radical (meaning at the root) change is needed to arrive at that beauty? It ultimately is asking, “Who did God make me to be?” and “How can I best strive to achieve that best version of myself with the help of God’s Grace?” This may call for a change in our lives we don’t really want. I think a corollary to what my brother priest said to me is, “It is incredible what we can sometimes choose to change in order to avoid the change we need.” So what is it going to be this Lenten Season?

I encourage you to choose to follow the traditional Lenten acts of penance – giving something up, prayer and devotion, and of course almsgiving – acts of charity. But let it be for a purpose. Make it part of accomplishing the change you need. Why change? So we can put on Christ and be more Christlike. We embrace metanoia so we can enter more and more fully into the deep, loving union with Jesus that God has made us for.

Love, Fr. Ian