2nd Sunday of Lent 2010

“O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” The Book of Common Prayer

Historically, one of the purposes of Lent was to bring back into fellowship those whose sin led to excommunication. While our sin has not led to excommunication, all of us sin on a daily basis. No one is perfect. We have all gone astray.

We constantly need God to bring about repentance in us. Repentance is a word that is tossed about quite frequently in the Church, yet its frequent use can cause it to lose its meaning.

Repentance means more than just expressing regret for one’s past sins. Repentance is a complete turning, a changing of the mind. It is a conscious decision to leave the sin of the past and move to a glorious new future in Christ.

However, we need Christ’s help. We should be praying on a daily basis for Christ to bring us “again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of [His] Word.”

As we continue this Lenten journey, ask Christ to bring you to repentance and to help you to hold steadfast to the faith.