First Sunday in Lent – 5 March 2017

Last Sunday, I said that it was interesting that in the gospel for the week, God was heard (by Peter, James and John) not in the moment of Jesus’ transfiguration, but later, from a cloud.

God speaks to us in our darkest direst moments – if only we will listen and look. Sister Angela Botti spoke to me on Wednesday of what she could only describe as a miracle of God’s creation.

On a concretes pathway, in a small join between steps, she saw a plant flourishing and flowering. There was no soil, nowhere to hold moisture, nothing to cling into, but this plant (which was not a weed but she couldn’t name it) was strong and vibrant. She was moved to sit for a while and give thanks to God.

Even in times of doubt and dire circumstances, God waits for us to turn and look and see (or hear) the signs of His presence in the darkness and dryness around us – so that we can go on and be the people God most desires us to be. When we seem the most depleted and feel the most empty, God is ready to fill us with fresh hope. When we are dazzled by what takes us away from true hope, but feels right in the moment, God is still with us. If we can learn to rely on this abiding presence, our lives can be gentle and generous.

God’s revelation may not arrive in a blinding flash but in the subtle and myriad acts of creation that, all too often we take for granted, blinded by the cares of the world.

How might our Lenten discipline help us renew our openness to the ways of God?