Sunday 9th March, 1st Sunday of Lent

“You can’t stop the birds flying over your head,” Martin Luther is reported to have said, “but you can stop them nesting in your hair.” As we embark upon our journey through Lent towards Easter, we are encouraged to reflect upon our own standing before God, and upon our lives. Today more perhaps than ever before we are constantly confronted with choices: what to wear, what to buy, what to eat, what to drive, who to vote for. All of this comes from being part of a consumer society in which choice is an absolute good. But consumerism wants choice without consequence, and Scripture and Christian tradition warn us that this is an illusion – almost every choice I make affects someone else in some way, and this is where we carry a responsibility to love God and love our neighbour. Some choices are harder than others – what guides me in making decisions about how to live?

Roger.