In Lent it can be easy to focus on absence, on letting go of those ‘bad’ habits in our own lives, or on the changes in our services as we leave out the Gloria and bury our Alleluias (metaphorically, or even literally…)  Perhaps this reflects something of the way we imagine Jesus in the wilderness, fasting without bread, away from the comfort of home and the distractions of the city.  The Lenten reminder of absence can be powerful, as we are invited to reflect on what holds us back from God and weighs us down, on what we need to leave behind to draw closer to the light and love of Christ.

But Lent is also, and even more, an invitation to presence, to a fuller and deeper experience of God’s love and healing grace in the whole of our lives.  It a time to notice how and where we set our boundaries to God’s love in our own lives, to recognise where we set up barriers, what it is that we want to hide and hold back from God’s bright light.  As human beings we know our own failings and frailties, and how hard it can be to be honest before God, to allow our hearts to be genuinely open.  Yet the theme of Lent is not so much God’s judgement as God’s compassion and mercy, held out to us in infinite abundance to cleanse and heal our hearts and bring us to new life in Christ.