INTRODUCTION
If I’m honest, I sometimes think of Lent as the closest thing to a bad news season that we have in the Christian liturgical year. Forty days of fasting, repentance, and reflection on our own mortality aren’t exactly a party. I mean, the whole thing starts on Ash Wednesday with a stark reminder that we’re all going to die, for heaven’s sake! But of course, the truth is that Lent, when properly understood, is all about good news. This is not a season for imposed mournfulness. Instead, it is an opportunity for joyful imitation of Christ, as indeed every season is. What could be better than that?
This year’s Lenten devotional series from A Sanctified Art captures that truth well—each week we are invited to explore another aspect of the good news of Lent, rooted in themes from Jesus’s ministry. Especially in a time of transition in our own congregation, and against the backdrop of so much conflict in our nation and our world, it can be helpful to “get back to basics.” We need reminders of the good news that is rooted in the saving work of Jesus, and that’s exactly what this series aims to do. Week one begins with the good news that God welcomes everyone, and as the weeks progress, we are invited to be surprised by the good news, shown how the impossible becomes possible with God, and urged to join Jesus in working for justice and showing special care for the vulnerable.
As we journey through these forty days accompanied by the poetry, artwork, and written and video reflections prepared by A Sanctified Art and members of our own staff, I hope you will also experience the good news in rich and surprising ways!
Lucy Baum
Director of Formation and Fellowship