Lent is a season of pilgrimage. It’s a time when we journey with Jesus, inspired by his 40 days in the wilderness, which Brian helped us reflect on so wonderfully last week. The pilgrimage, the journey of lent takes us into the wilderness, but with our eyes on a bright horizon. Upon this horizon we see the silhouette of the cross of Christ, and beyond that, the hope of new life dawning in the glowing Easter sky.

Lent is also a symbol of our lives, especially now, having been through some difficult months but with some hope of change ahead. We are ‘Easter’ people, as the saying goes. And yet, that doesn’t take away the fact that we do face difficult times in our journey of faith. There are times when we can be confused or have questions that feel unanswered. The lent course is designed to tackle some of these issues, and it’s been wonderful to speak to people and hear your very moving stories of God’s faithfulness, even through hard times, or as the course puts it, a ‘winter season’ of faith.

And yet, it was recognised that these times can allow for growth and a deepening faith. The enduring image from the first session, for me, was the symbol of trees – how, when in winter, when it seems like there is no life above ground, below ground, that’s when roots spread and strengthen, enabling the tree to live through the storms it will face the following year.

In the reading from Mark, we find Peter in such a moment of despair. I cannot think of a more heart-breaking rebuke than Jesus saying, ‘get behind me Satan!’ Poor Peter. He had just been commended on proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, and in no time at all, he must have been thrown into the depths of confusion, and worse. I’m sure we can relate with him, though. If Jesus is the Messiah, then why is he starting to talk about his death? Peter, and the whole crowd with him, would have thought ‘that’s not what the messiah is meant to do.’

But sometimes, God works in ways that surprise us. And, if we’re honest, this can be discomforting, but it can also be disappointing. I wonder if you have stories from your own life, when you would have liked to have prayed, ‘No, no, Lord, surely this is a better way.’

Sometimes we cannot see beyond the wilderness, beyond the winter season. Sometimes it’s difficult to know how to follow God through life’s ups and downs. These past few months are no exception, but I find it quite comforting that we begin the road to recovery during this season of lent.

A life of following Jesus may not be easy – our reading is quite clear about that. Throughout the whole of Mark’s gospel the invitation that Christ offers is to ‘follow me’, and we do that knowing that he leads us to the cross. But, like Abraham, we can ‘hope against hope’, we can know a deepening, growing faith even when our circumstances seem beyond repair.

Peter could only see the defeat in what Jesus was saying, but he did not understand that the defeat would not be God’s defeat, but the defeat of evil, darkness and sin. God would transform the worst possible scenario into the greatest redemption and hope. That’s what God does with the mess of the world.

So, as we continue to journey through lent together, how can we begin to see things from God’s perspective? How might that change the way we see the world? How can you make the most of the wilderness times, and find that faith begins to grow? Can we dare to hope, dare to believe?

Revd Joe Knight