Dear people of Faith-La Fe

Lent has begun. This is a season that invites us to slow down and pay attention. It calls us to be honest about our lives, our struggles, and our need for God. Lent does not exist to make us feel guilty. It exists to bring us back to what is real. It brings us back to the truth that we belong to God and that God never lets us go.

The first Sunday of Lent takes us into the wilderness with Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He fasts for forty days and forty nights. He is alone. He is physically weak. He faces real temptation. He stands in the place of human vulnerability. What we see there is the character of God revealed in flesh. God does not observe suffering from a distance. In Jesus, God steps directly into hunger, testing, and struggle, and remains faithful in the middle of it.

The wilderness is not only a place on a map. It is any place in life where we feel vulnerable, tired, or unsure of what comes next. Many people today are living in that kind of wilderness. Some carry fear about the future. Some carry grief. Some carry stress about family, health, work, or the state of the world. Here in Phoenix, we see both beauty and hardship all around us. We see resilience. We also see people who are weary.

Lent reminds us that the wilderness is not a place where God abandons us. It is often the place where God meets us most clearly.

Jesus does not escape the wilderness. He walks through it. He trusts the Father in the middle of it. He refuses to let fear or temptation define him. He remains grounded in God’s truth. His strength does not come from power or control. It comes from trust.

This matters for us as a church. At Faith–La Fe Lutheran Church, we are walking through Lent together. We are not alone in this journey. We pray together. We worship together. We support one another. We remind each other of God’s promises.

Lent is a time to return. It is a time to return to prayer, even if our prayers feel simple. It is a time to return to Scripture, even if we only read a few verses. It is a time to return to worship, even when life feels busy or heavy.

One of the ways we will live this out together is through our Wednesday soup suppers during Lent. After a soup supper which begins at 5:30, we will gather for a close, conversational look at Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. Together, we will reflect on topics that shape our daily lives, including anger, adultery, divorce, retaliation, worry, and prayer. These conversations are not about judgment. They are about growth. They are about listening to Jesus and allowing His words to shape how we live and how we care for one another.

These gatherings are also a reminder that we do not walk this journey alone. We share food. We share conversation. We share faith. In these simple moments, God strengthens us as a community.

At Faith–La Fe Lutheran Church, we are walking through Lent together. We pray together. We worship together. We support one another. We remind each other of God’s promises.

Lent teaches us honesty. We do not need to pretend to be stronger than we are. We do not need to hide our fears or doubts. God already knows us completely. God meets us with mercy, not judgment.

This first week of Lent sets the tone for the whole season. It reminds us that following Christ is not about avoiding difficulty. It is about trusting that God is present in the middle of it. It is about remembering who we are and whose we are.

The wilderness is never the final destination. Easter is coming. Resurrection is coming. New life is coming.

For now, we walk together. We pray together. We trust together.

God is with us every step of the way.

With hope for the journey ahead

Pastora Veronica