As we begin a series of exploring the identity, nature, and mission of the Church, we allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves.

A meditation on Lent and the nature of suffering, with two main points of focus: 1) An acknowledgement in the Lenten season that the idea of voluntary suffering is sometimes hard to make sense of when you are living under the weight of involuntary suffering; and 2) we wrestle with the questions: “Where is God?” when we are suffering and, ultimately “Can you trust that what comes to you is for you?” Along the way we settle into the reality that God is the crucified God – the one who lives in our suffering before we ever get to it ourselves, and the one who calls us to enter the abyss with one another, trusting that we’ll find Jesus there together.