The season of Lent begins this Wednesday. Our theme for Lent this year is Sensing the Gospel. Each week we will examine one of our senses in light of the gospel message. It is easy to get caught up in doctrines and in theology. But what we often forget is that in Jesus Christ, the salvation God provided was not just an idea or a set of doctrine. Salvation happened in human flesh. People like us encountered Jesus in their own bodies. There were real people in real contact with a real man. And what we also often forget is that this encounter with Christ was not limited to those people we read of in the Bible. We continue to encounter him in our bodies’ ability to perceive our relationships, our experiences, our circumstances, and our goals in light of Christ. This Sunday we begin with our sense of sight. And we will see from an unusual story of Jesus healing a blind man the importance of recognizing the limitations of our sight.
I hope to see you at our Ash Wednesday service this Wednesday at 6 p.m. and for our first Sunday of Lent followed by brunch this weekend.