Lent: the next 40 days when Christians prepare for Easter. Some believers forego chocolate or television or social media as a Lenten observance, but…

“The evil of the day is sufficient thereof,” said my theology professor – and Matthew in his gospel, read last Sunday.

The School of Theology conversation examined those words. And the message feels real: no need to go looking for opportunities of suffering, life will present more than enough. So, worry all you want, deny yourself something, but eliminating chocolate from your diet will not bring about the Kingdom of God. Hasn’t yet.

“The evil of the day is sufficient thereof.” No kidding. Perhaps it is time to move gently through the day and dispel the evil– end the hunger in our neighborhoods, visit the sick friends who long for a companion, hand over gloves and a hat to the shivering homeless person wandering in the snow.

If we focus our Lenten journey beyond ourselves, addressing the unmet needs of our neighbors – food, shelter, comfort – we can confront the evil of the day and fill the hole in our own soul, an emptiness chocolate – consumed or denied - never satisfied.

(S-R archive photo)

---

---