Thoughts on...
March 1, 2009: First Sunday of Lent
Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:9-15

When life is good we feel good. There's a spring in your step and a lightness in your heart. But these good feeling do not last forever. At some point disappointment raises its ugly head, bad things happen and that lightheartedness disappears in a cloud of dismal disgust. How do we respond when life knocks us down?

Life was good for Jesus, he heard the comforting words of his heavenly Father, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." But affirmation is quickly replaced with temptation. There in the wilderness Jesus is confronted by Satan and wild beasts. The recipe for a bad day I'm sure and there were 40 of them in a row. How would Jesus respond when life seemed to knock him down?

"Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God." Jesus did not forget the connection he had with his Father. As God affirmed him in his baptism, God affirmed Jesus in the wilderness with the presence of angels. The angels didn't fix the situation, didn't make Jesus' bad day better, but they did offer their presence. And when Jesus made it through those 40 days, he went out proclaiming the good news. God is with us, God protects us, God heals us.

In the midst of life's struggles, the loss of job, the disappointment of lost relationships, when health disables us, know that God is present walking with us. The bad day, the difficult circumstances are not taken away but we are not alone. In the end, perhaps we will be made stronger in our understanding of God and God's presence in our life. And we too, will be able to proclaim the Good News; God is with us, God protects us, God heals us.

How will you respond to life's disappointments?