Lenten Homily, Ash Wednesday 2026

During Lent the Church reminds of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Each requires that we give something up—our time, our comfort, our means.

In almsgiving, someone else benefits. With prayer, we’re giving our time directly to the Lord. But fasting? That can feel different. We give something up and it just seems to… get worse. We suffer, and for what?

I think it’s worth sitting with that question as we begin this season. Why do we suffer, especially when we’re trying to do something good? Christ didn’t come into this world to make mission harder —He came to transform suffering itself.

Lent invites us into just that: joining in His suffering, putting aside good things for better things, allowing Him to conform us more closely to Himself.

Listening to God’s Voice in Our Suffering

Truly listening to God’s voice involves sacrificing ourselves for God—which is painful. It’s not always about giving up bad things; often it’s about letting go of parts of who we are so God can make us better. He wants to conform us to Himself.

During Lent, instead of just making a checklist of sacrifices, maybe we should ask: What is the Lord actually saying? What is he doing? Where is He moving in my life? How is He calling me to give specifically to the people He has placed in my path right now? What is He asking me to fast from? Maybe it’s not food. Maybe it’s social media, or control, or comfort.

The key shift here is moving from “What do I want to do for God?” to “What is He trying to do for me, and how can I say yes?” It’s the same question, really, but looking at it from His point of view changes everything.

When Suffering Seems Meaningless

Here’s where it gets hard: some suffering just seems meaningless. We ask, “Lord, why are You allowing this to happen? This doesn’t make any sense.” And I’ll be honest—I don’t always have the answer. None of us do.

Maybe it’s the weather where you’re at. Maybe it’s a person or situation you can’t change. As missionaries, you give up a lot—let’s be honest. This place is great, but it’s not Barcelona, it’s not Valencia, it’s not even Cologne or Cleveland. There are real sacrifices, real things that objectively make life harder.

But I think we have to hold the tension: acknowledge that this is painful without pretending it’s not there, while simultaneously believing that the Lord must be doing something. We have to ask for that grace—to hold both truths at once. Because if we can do that, especially in mission, that’s where real transformation happens.

Christ’s Downgrade for Our Sake

I don’t think we reflect enough on the reality that Christ came down from heaven—where everything is perfect—into this mess. No matter how bad our weather is, no matter what struggles we face, His was the ultimate downgrade. And He did it out of love for us. He invites us to do the same: to come down so we can go up with Him.

That’s what Lent is really about. Where is He inviting purification? In prayer? In my relationships with others? In my relationship with myself? How can I create space for a deeper understanding of what He’s doing—a deeper love for Him, even when I don’t fully understand?

Your Presence Matters

I talk to a lot of people, and I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but the fact that you’re even here, that you’re giving this a shot—that’s already a huge statement. It’s inspirational. It’s fruitful. Allowing the Lord to purify us is fruitful. Believing that there is resurrection, that something is happening even when we can’t see it—that’s fruitful.

So let’s dig into that this Lent. Let’s ask the Lord to make that reality come alive in our lives. Not just enduring suffering, but trusting that He’s doing something deeper, something eternal, something we might not fully understand until we’re with Him in heaven.

This Lent, let’s not just survive—let’s believe.