At the Edge of Lent

Dear Siblings in Chirst,

We are coming to the end of Lent.

For weeks now, we have been walking a slower road. A more honest road. A road where we have had to look at ourselves without pretending. We have named what is broken and faced what we would rather avoid. We have sat with repentance, not as punishment, but as truth.

Lent strips things down. It reminds us we are not as in control as we like to think. It exposes how quickly we judge, how easily we ignore, and how often we choose comfort over compassion.

And if we have been paying attention, we have also seen this: God has not stepped away.

Even in our honesty. Even in our mess. Even in our resistance. God has stayed close.

This season has not only been about what is happening within us. It has also been about how we respond to the need and injustice around us. Supporting Bread for the World is one way we live that out. It reminds us that faith is not only personal. It calls us to care whether our neighbors have enough to eat and to use our voices when it matters.

The same is true as we step into spaces with others. The interfaith prayer walk is an invitation to stand alongside people of different traditions and still come together in prayer for our community. It is not about agreement on everything. It is about recognizing our shared responsibility to seek peace, justice, and the well-being of those around us.

This is what following Jesus looks like in real life.

He did not avoid the places where people were hurting or being pushed aside. He moved toward them. He spoke about justice, called out what was wrong, and made space for those who had been ignored. As his followers, we are called to do the same.

We live that out in concrete ways. We write letters. We show up. We pray in public spaces like the capitol. These are reminders that faith does not stay inside church walls. It moves into the world and seeks the well-being of the whole community.

As we come close to Holy Week, things begin to sharpen.

The story is no longer general. It becomes specific. Jesus turns toward Jerusalem, toward confrontation, suffering, and the cross. Not by accident. He walks there on purpose.

And we are invited to follow.

Not as spectators. Not as people watching a distant story. But as people who recognize ourselves in it.

We know what it is to betray, to deny, and to stay silent when it matters. We know what it is to choose fear over faith. Holy Week holds up a mirror, and it is not always comfortable.

But it also tells the truth about God.

God does not wait for us to get it right. God steps into the worst of what we do and refuses to let it be the end of the story.

That is where Lent has been leading us. Not to guilt or shame, but to the cross. To the place where love does not turn away, where grace is lived out through our hands, our voices, and our presence in the world.

So as Lent comes to a close, the question is simple:

Have we let this season do its work?

Have we been honest about who we are? Have we noticed where God has been meeting us? Have we taken even one step toward loving our neighbor?

Holy Week is not something we rush into. It is something we enter with intention.

There is still time to pause. To pray. To show up. To trust, even a little more, that God is already at work.

Lent is ending. But what God is doing in us is not.

And that is the hope we carry into Holy Week.

Grace and peace as we enter Holy Week together.

Pastora Veronica Alvarez