We begin our Lenten study at the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus has asked two of his disciples to do the work to get things ready, and he gathers all his disciples together for a meal in a large upper room of a wealthy man’s house.
It reminded me of a time several years ago when I was asked to prepare a meal for some unexpected guests. That meal is a constant reminder of the tension between the blessings I have received and of the comfort I seek.
When our youngest son, Daniel was a freshman at Baylor, he called us just before Thanksgiving to ask if he could invite a few of his friends to come home with him for the holiday weekend. How wonderful to get to know some of the college buddies! How thoughtful for inviting some young men that probably lived far away and can’t be with their families for Thanksgiving. We must have passed the ‘cool’ parent test for him to invite college buddies to our home! I looked forward with great anticipation to welcoming some strangers into our home for the holiday.
What we didn’t know is that these two friends were actually homeless men, and part of the outreach ministry in Waco where Daniel volunteered. They were two men that Daniel had befriended, and had no place to go.
Sometimes, like these times, life brings our self-focused, comfort-seeking lives into focus. Lent invites us to make space for God to work in and through us, to name the ways we stray, to seek to be more Christ –like, and to trust our God of steadfast love.
