a sermon from Bishop Ken

When we understand that we are in Christ, we begin to hear the Father’s words at the Transfiguration—“This is my beloved Son, in whom I delight”—as words spoken over us as well, so that we live not to earn God’s favor but from the favor already given. If we miss this, repentance turns into an anxious effort to move from rejection to acceptance, rather than a joyful return to the One who already calls us beloved. Paul longed for deeper intimacy with Jesus because he knew that knowing Christ is worth losing everything else, and that this communion is the heart of the Christian life. Entering Lent with that assurance frees us to repent without self-loathing, to loosen our grip on lesser loves, and to run after Christ in the confidence that we are already delighted in as children of God.