This is how Rev Sheila Cameron finished her sermon on 5 March, the Second Sunday of Lent:

During Lent, let us think about those risky journeys of Abraham and Nicodemus and of Jesus himself, and about what journeying might mean to each of us. What are the comforts you would need to think about renouncing, if you believed God was calling you to take a step into the unknown? These might be material things such as home comforts; or they might be favourite plans that don’t necessarily include God; or they might be attitudes of mind that put self before discipleship. Whichever category your sacrifice comes under, it won’t be comfortable, but you will be listening for a call to a greater purpose beyond that sacrifice. The present may be darkness, but faith keeps us steady and teaches us patience. And the future holds promises beyond our imaginings.

So, as we make our personal journey of discipleship through Lent, let us empty our hearts and minds of all that distracts us, so that we can, in the words of Henri Nouwen, “prepare in the centre of our innermost being the home for the God who wants to dwell in us. Then we can say with St Paul, ‘I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20).” And in this we’ll have a safe home while we are still on the way. Amen.

Do read the whole of Sheila’s sermon at this link.

Our picture by Aram Sabah is a slightly cropped version of the one made available on the Unsplash platform.