Bishop Sonia's Lent message

When I was a Girls’ Friendly Society (GFS) leader, we were doing a program on Lent with our girls.

It was 1984.

We began by asking the girls what Ash Wednesday was about. Given we did this every year, we expected the girls to talk about giving something up, or praying, or going to church. Obvious answers that didn’t take much thought.

That was not what our girls said, however. Their first response was “bushfires”. Of course it was.

A year earlier, South Australia had experienced the devastating Ash Wednesday bushfires, and this was fresh in our girls’ minds.

In the Church, Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. At worship, we hear Bible readings which tell us of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. This follows his baptism and is a time of preparation for his public ministry.

Many Christians regard the 40 days of Lent as a time to “journey” with Jesus in the wilderness. For some, it is a time of reflection and prayer.

For others, it is an opportunity to practice a spiritual discipline, such as giving something up, as we remember that Jesus fasted in the wilderness.

Lent can also be a time to take something up, as a way of deepening a person’s spiritual life.

As I reflect on this, and reflect on our GFS girls’ response, I think of two important things to consider as we begin Lent this year.

Firstly, our approach to Ash Wednesday and Lent can become something obvious that doesn’t take much thought.

Let me encourage you to use Lent intentionally this year as a way of responding to God’s presence and grace in our life, or as a way of seeking to refresh your relationship with God.

Secondly, all of this happens in a wider context. With our GFS girls all that time ago, I imagine we were thinking ‘church’, while they were reflecting on the world around them.

But these two worlds are not separate. I wonder, how can the church speak words of hope and faith to the wider world today, in a voice that can be heard?

And how can the wider community awaken the church to aspects of God’s call to us? Perhaps these are also good questions for Lent – a time of reflection, hope, and deepening faith.

- Bishop Sonia