Beginning

This Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we will begin another season of Lent: another opportunity to draw closer to the Lord through special observances of penance, reflection, and putting our faith into action.

To help us prepare for the beginning of Lent, we have the beginning of the book of Genesis as today’s first reading: the beginning of all beginnings.

In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth...

As familiar as these nineteen verses are, they still provide valuable reminders for us as we approach this penitential season. These are just a few of the ones that come to my mind:


First of all, these verses remind us that God is the creator of all things, that he recreates us in Christ and that he is continuing this work of recreation in us, especially during this season of Lent.

Lent is not just another project: it is a time for letting the Lord work in us.


Second, the creation of light and the separation of light from darkness are powerful metaphors for our spiritual lives. Many times in our lives when we are confused or depressed we want to hear the voice of God call out, “Let there be light!” For many of us, this is our constant prayer.

On the other hand, the separation of light from darkness can sometimes be a tricky concept for us to wrap our heads around. And yet, the separation of light from darkness can be an excellent metaphor for our spiritual work of Lent.

As we reflect upon our lives and upon the life to which Christ calls us, we inevitably become aware of particular sources of darkness within us - within our hearts, within our habits, within our minds, within our souls – not to focus on them, but to identify them within the complexity of our often grayed-out consciousness so that the light of Christ may shine more brightly inside us.


Finally, the separation of land from the water offers us additional metaphors for our spiritual life.

Water, of course, has many properties, which makes it very rich as a metaphor in Scripture. At the risk of tautology, however, one might say that perhaps its most basic property is its fluidity.

Many of the stresses we may feel in our lives are related to the challenges of fluidity versus solidity: motion conflicting with stability, like water against the land.

Part of our being recreated during this season of Lent is the Lord separating within us the water from the land and making each of them pure, so that we may be solid and secure in the Lord – in Christ our Rock – and yet open conduits of the Holy Spirit of God flowing through us.


These are just a few things to consider as we journey through the violet shades of Lent on our way to the bright light of Easter.

Evening comes and morning follows: the eternal day.