Prelude The Feast

A LENTEN PILGRIMAGE

The mango tree in my neighbour's garden is already blooming. There is a delicate fragrance in the air. A host of honey bees and other flying insects swarm the tree. It looks like spring in temperate climates. But it is actually the onset of hot summer here in Kerala, South India. The air is getting warmer every day and is unbearably humid too.

We begin the holy Lent tomorrow. We set out on a journey that lasts for forty days and then the Holy Week - altogether fifty days until Easter. Let us begin with joy and hope. We set our hope on Resurrection as the destination of the journey and we have in us the joy of the Risen Christ by anticipation.
True, the Lent focuses on repentance. But we repent not in despair and bitterness but in hope and the joy of forgiveness. After all we have read and meditated this morning in the Sunday liturgy the passage from St John's gospel where Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. A wedding feast, of course, is an occasion of celebration and rejoicing.
The "sign" that Jesus did there was a sign of the Kingdom of God that unravels a new order of life. It was a pointer to the transformation of our human nature. Yes, we can change, we can be different human beings positively. Our communities also can change. So let us drink the vintage wine of joy that Jesus prepares for us amidst all the anxiety and the deep sense of guilt and shame and the unexpected shortage of resources at home.
We now focus on the joyous feast and the tree in blossom. But we need to wait patiently for the fruits. They appear slowly, ripen gradually, and after several months we will have delicious mangoes in enchanting colours and tastes.
Let us start the Lenten journey together. It is a pilgrimage. There is great value when we make the pilgrimage together, in the community, for the community and with the community in love, joy and peace.True, the Lent focuses on repentance. But we repent not in despair and bitterness but in hope and the joy of forgiveness. After all we have read and meditated this morning in the Sunday liturgy the passage from St John's gospel where Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. A wedding feast, of course, is an occasion of celebration and rejoicing.The "sign" that Jesus did there was a sign of the Kingdom of God that unravels a new order of life. It was a pointer to the transformation of our human nature. Yes, we can change, we can be different human beings positively. Our communities also can change. So let us drink the vintage wine of joy that Jesus prepares for us amidst all the anxiety and the deep sense of guilt and shame and the unexpected shortage of resources at home. We now focus on the joyous feast and the tree in blossom. But we need to wait patiently for the fruits. They appear slowly, ripen gradually, and after several months we will have delicious mangoes in enchanting colours and tastes.Let us start the Lenten journey together. It is a pilgrimage. There is great value when we make the pilgrimage together, in the community, for the community and with the community in love, joy and peace.

Rev. Fr. Dr. K M George