The 33 word in my Lent lexicon is:
A NEW BEGINNING.
In some ways way could describe all of Lent as a new beginning. It’s what we’re offered first on Ash Wednesday as we’re invited to turn back to the gospel and to begin to live it more faithfully. That offer is repeated throughout Lent as we follow Jesus on his journey towards his passion and ultimately Resurrection.
Today’s readings touch on this theme of new beginnings. In the first reading Isaiah promise that the Lord is about to do “a new deed” creating a new way through the wilderness where God’s people can both travel and live safely.
In the gospel, the woman taken in adultery is offered a new beginning by Jesus in what initially seemed like the most unlikely of circumstances. Having challenged and seen off her accusers Jesus says to her:
“Neither do I condemn you…go away, and do not sin any more.”
While his words offer her a hope that must have seemed unimaginable a few minutes before. Yet the offer also carries a challenge, as Chaim Potok points out “all beginnings are hard.”
Whether we’re faced with a small beginning or a major one like this unnamed woman it’s never easy to begin again. We can’t accept the offer of a new beginning unless we let go of our sin, however safe and familiar it feels, and to step out into the unknown. As we start the 5th week of Lent we too are invited to risk embracing a new beginning in our lives.
Where is Christ challenging you walk away from your sin and make a new beginning this Lent?