In the beginning

In the beginning

In the beginning, when all was dark and quiet, God created chaos and light.

Into that beauty of creation, God placed men and women

There was a brief age – of innocence

And then human beings discovered power and used their knowledge to corrupt all that was good.

But the God of love never forgot that love in which human beings were created.

Although they turned from God, always there was forgiveness and the possibility of a way back.

God honoured the ingenuity and creativity of men and women and entrusted them with care of all creation.

And, when darkness threatened to overwhelm the earth, God sent the Son to bring light.

Jesus, the Son still offers us light in our darkness and a way back to the Father.

And so, at the beginning of this holy season of Lent, we commit ourselves afresh to walking in that light, to following Christ along the path, through rejection and suffering, bearing the weight of the cross so that we can emerge, with him, to life in all its fullness.

We don ashes as a symbol of that commitment and as a symbol of our confidence in the love of God that overcomes even death itself.

We journey with Christ, through the wilderness and emerge with hope and with a spring in our step because still God declares us beloved children.

Liz Crumlish 2009