This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It's hard to believe that our Lenten journey is nearly halfway complete. In just a couple of weeks, Holy Week will begin, and together we will journey to the cross. This week, one of our readings is from Ephesians chapter five. It's a short reading tucked between a longer Old Testament reading and a very long Gospel. As a result, it is often overlooked. It reads, "Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord."

The fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Part of Lent is the paring down of those things in our lives that cast shade, cause pain, and/or distract us so that we can focus on what is good, right, and true. Sadly, I have noticed in my own life, and perhaps this is true for some of you as well, that for me, it is easier to focus or fixate on darkness. Focusing on the good takes practice and discipline, while focusing on what is bad seems to happen rather impulsively. Perhaps this is why the word "try" is in this scripture. I don't need to try to focus on the bad. I see it naturally all around me; it saturates our news, pulls me in through social media, and calls to me in rage bait advertisements and shorts, to the extent that it is almost natural to fall into the trap of that focus.

Paul calls us to try something different. He calls us in this reading to both expose the works of darkness and to focus on the good, implying that merely exposing darkness is not enough for us who call ourselves Christians. Rather, we are to expose what is wrong while also casting a vision for what is right, focusing on that. I pray for the discipline to do this, and I encourage you to do the same. The world wants one thing, but God has always called his people to something better. May we inch towards that paradise together, and in the meantime, I hope to see you this Friday at our next fish fry.

Peace,

Mitch