Tonight I am pondering the mystery that is Lent. It is a long season of preparation. And I do feel prepared. There was considerable planning of services, lots of creative writing, consultation with and involvement of others. And yet now it feels just as hectic as Advent. In part, that is due to scheduling extra school end of term services - chaplaincy in 5 schools makes the last week of term pretty hectic. But it is also due to the deep desire to ensure that Lent and, in particular, Holy Week and Easter are observed well and that all the different observations, the liturgies, the visual presentations, the music and readings leave a lasting impression with all those who journey for all or part of the season. A friend remarked recently: you've done it enough times now, isn't it easy? The answer is no. That quest to keep on affording new and enlightening encounters with a God who loves us enough to die for us is relentless, calling for new understanding, new depth, new relationship. And, if that makes life a bit frenetic right now, that's a small price to pay to be able to stand at the foot of the cross and then be led onwards to the hope of Easter. There is glorious hope (and rest!) just around the corner.
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