The story of Lent is the story of Jesus, and the story of the way in which God enters in a unique way into our journey of challenge, suffering, embodiment, and so into authentic human existence.  It is God entering fully into the human experience and then leading us on a journey of presence through the darkness toward new life.And so, I allow my rhythm of prayer to echo this story; to pulse with the repeating refrains of presence, experience and coherence.

Seclusion is the sacred space of prayer where we are alone with ourselves long enough to consider how the extrinsic trappings of our so-called sacred practices are in need of re-evaluation. When we separate from the familiar and predictable we begin to face our deep need for ongoing change and renewal. 

The Wilderness with all of it’s unknown’s and risks are invitations for transformation. Changing our view of the world often requires moving to a new vantage point, like scaling the rugged rocky outcrops of Mt Tongariro’s ‘Devil’s Staircase’, in order to experience the beauty of the milky aqua volcanic Lakes that lie at the top of her pass.

The season of lent mirrors the ancient pathway, a deeply religious narrative of  the Jewish community as they journeyed from Egypt to the wilderness and into the promised land. The wilderness was their liminal space, their in-between corridor of time that gave them permission to re-evaluate the big questions that arise as we follow our sacred script of personal transformation.

But this time it’s not just to bring about freedom for a certain group of slaves; it is to reach into the very heart of humanness itself, and lead us all on an exodus out of dehumanisation and toward life, flourishing, and possibility. Jesus invites us to follow him on a new exodus. To follow him down a path toward a different way of being in the world.