Luke 4 in action

This is our last week listening to Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” – Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus is in a broken place among broken people teaching what the year of the Lord’s favour looks like. This is what God at work in the world looks like. This is Luke 4 in action. As we approach Lent we are invited to consider how much this shapes our hopes and dreams for ourselves and for our communities.

The Diocese of Waikato & Taranaki offer these thoughts as we come to Ash Wednesday and Lent

“You probably know a few people who 'wear their heart on their sleeve' - people who make their feelings about someone or something pretty obvious. However, you may not know that this phrase originates from medieval tournaments. Knights who wanted to display their affection for a particular lady would tie her hanky to their sleeves and then charge at someone with a lance. It was considered to be a very courageous display of loyalty...
On Wednesday, March the 6th, we invite you to 'wear your heart on your sleeve' by attending an Ash Wednesday Service. During this service you will receive the sign of the cross - a symbol of our mortality, penitence, and belonging. When we see that sign on other people's foreheads we are reminded that we belong to the tribe of Jesus; we are part of a movement. By receiving the imposition of ashes we become a public witness to the work of God. It is a public and courageous display of our loyalty to the One we love.
So, go early, go often, and be seen!”