On this First Sunday in Lent, Matthew tells us that Jesus is led into the wilderness. It is not by accident, nor as punishment, but intentionally—because that is where God begins to clear the air. The wilderness is where the extra falls away, where the noise thins out, and where the heart can finally listen.

People of God, Lent is not about proving anything. It is not about performing holiness or passing a test. Lent is where God meets us in our hunger, as surely as God meets us in the ashes, and whispers again the sentence that steadies us: “You are mine.”

Looking forward to Sunday as our Deacon-in-Training will be preaching.

Father Karl