View from the Vicarage

I’ve been enjoying some walking recently, good health is not something we can take for granted is it? While we have it is important to get out there and make the most of it, and we can see the Lake District mountains from our church towers so it’s not very far. As Lent begins, the Church invites us to walk again with Jesus, but into the wilderness. In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 4 verses 1 to 11, we find Jesus led by the Spirit into a place of hunger, and testing. This is a revealing moment, showing us what really sustains a life rooted in God.

The temptations Jesus faces feel close to home. The wish to turn stones into bread reflects our concern for security. The pull to prove himself speaks to our longing for affirmation and the offer of power, thinly disguised as responsibility, touches something familiar in us all. Jesus responds not with force or a display, but with Scripture that has clearly shaped his inner life long before this moment.

In our rural parishes, wilderness moments are rarely dramatic, yet they are real enough. They appear in times of uncertainty, quiet worry for ourselves or others, tired faith or unanswered prayer. Lent does not hurry us past these experiences. Instead, it encourages us to stay with them, trusting that God is present even where life feels demanding.

Jesus leaves the wilderness clear-sighted. He knows what he will not be, as well as what he is called to become. As we worship together through March, may this season gently help us to rediscover what matters most, and to listen again for the word that gives life.

Your Vicar and friend,

Andrew Wilkinson