Are you ready? Today is Ash Wednesday and I’ve been thinking that I am ready. Ready for Lent. Ready to not only “give something up” for Lent, but to make a commitment “to” something for Lent. And my commitment is to share my journey to Easter this year, with some prayer, reflection, a touch of encouragement, and maybe even a smile or two. 
So many folks who have enjoyed “Touched By An Angel” or “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” or other productions I’ve had the privilege to produce, come from so many different faiths, even though it’s pretty general knowledge that I, myself, am a Christian. For me, that is a deeply personal journey that can’t be defined by the politics or the social or cultural opinions of the day. The word Christian and the phrase “born again” have been used and misused so often that more often than not I find myself saying, “yes, I’m a Christian” and then feeling that I have to go on and explain what I am NOT as much as what I am.
But going through some old journals the other day, I found something that I copied down for myself back in 1985. It was a short letter from a third century martyr named St. Cyprian to his friend Donatis. In a few words, this voice from almost two thousand years ago reminded me how very simple a person’s faith can be and still make a powerful difference. Here it is:
“This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my vines. But if I were to ascend some high mountain and look out over the wide lands, you know very well what I should see; brigands on the highways, pirates on the seas, armies fighting, cities burning, in the amphitheaters men murdered to entertain applauding crowds; selfishness, cruelty, misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, Donatis, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatis, are the Christians, and I am one of them.”
May God bless each of us this Lenten season with simple truths. The truth of what we share and not what divides us. His enduring love for all. The joy that it brings. And may each of us find, with His help, a simple way to pass that on. Are you ready?