Can you see it?
Yes, there is a manger- an empty manger- but look at the shadow. Can you see it?
Not so long ago we were celebrating the Christmas season; but now, Lent is knocking at the door and in the space where the baby King slept, is the shadow of a cross. A stark reminder that the babe was born to die.
Jesus came into this world out of deep compassionate love for us. He came to die for us. This Lent, are you willing to die? Die for love of someone else?
There are so many things that need to stop existing (die) in our lives. For example, a prevalent – and damaging- theme in our culture is the need to be right. Are you a Mr. or Mrs. Right? Do you feel a strong need to be right and prove that to others? Do you argue your point to the bitter end? Then you need to die. Die to that selfish pride, and let it go. When you do that, it tells the other “I love you…I respect you.”
The truth is we were all born to die. You can try to ignore the cross that shadows your life with its challenges of charity, or you can embrace it. When we say yes to the cross, we are resurrected…and love blossoms in our hearts, spreading its fragrant peace throughout the world.