Look Up This Lent

Dear Faith Family,

One of the gifts of being back in Kansas is the sky. There is something about a prairie sunset, the horizon set ablaze in orange, red, and purple, that invites us to pause and look up. Creation has a way of preaching, if we are paying attention.

This week offered an added spectacle. Just after sunset, a rare planetary parade became visible. Six planets appeared along the same arc of the sky. They are not truly lined up in space, but from our vantage point on Earth they seem gathered together. Four of them, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter, can be seen with the unaided eye if the western horizon is clear. The moment does not last long. The window is about an hour after sunset.

You have to be looking.

That feels like a Lenten lesson.

Lent is a season of holy attentiveness. It slows us down. It invites us to examine what usually rushes past unnoticed. In these forty days, we practice noticing the presence of God in ordinary places. In busy mornings. In difficult conversations. In acts of quiet generosity. In beauty that appears and fades within the hour.

The planets are always moving in their orbits, whether we see them or not. In the same way, God is always at work, whether we pause to notice or not. Lent trains our eyes and hearts to pay attention. To step outside. To lift our gaze. To trust that even when life feels scattered or out of alignment, there is a deeper order held together by grace.

So this week, I encourage you to watch the sunset. Look toward the western horizon. Let wonder interrupt your routine. The discipline of Lent is not only about what we give up. It is about learning to see.

See you in church!

Peace, Grace, and Love,
Pastor Kevin