What if Lent Could Rekindle Your Faith? Exploring the Kerygma
Life can take us on unexpected paths, and sometimes our faith journey can feel like it’s taken a detour. If you’ve found yourself distant from your faith, or if you’re simply curious about exploring it again, this Lenten season offers a gentle invitation to reconnect. These daily reflections focus on the Kerygma, the core message of Christianity – a message of love, hope, and new beginnings. We’ll be exploring eight key “Acts” of God’s story, from creation to our present call to partnership with Him. There’s no pressure, no judgment, just an invitation to consider a different perspective and perhaps rediscover a connection you thought was lost.
Act 8 of the Kerygma: “God, Infinitely Merciful, Desires That All Men Be Saved”
“The final Act of the Kerygma is God’s ultimate desire and intention: that we be restored to Him forever. God’s love remains steadfast. He pursues us across every generation. His mercy is endless. He sent His Son to save us. And He now invites us to make a free-will response to His love—to say yes to Jesus, to be baptized, and to live as His disciples, so that the whole world may know and experience His love and mercy.”
Living as the Chosen
1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were ‘no people’ but now you are God’s people; you ‘had not received mercy’ but now you have received mercy.”
Reflection
Take a moment and let those words sink deep into your heart: You are chosen. You belong to God. You have received mercy. This passage from 1 Peter is a powerful echo of the Kerygma’s final act – God’s infinite mercy actively seeking us out, desiring our salvation.
What is God doing here? He isn’t passively waiting; He is actively calling, choosing, and transforming. He takes those who were scattered, who felt like “no people,” lost in darkness, and through His sheer mercy, He makes them His own treasured possession – “a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” This reveals a God who is not distant or indifferent, but intimately involved, initiating relationship, and lavishing His people with identity and purpose. His character shines through as profoundly merciful, redemptive, and empowering.
God’s desire for you to be saved isn’t just a wish; it’s an invitation He extends constantly. He desires you to choose Him freely, to step out of any remaining darkness and fully embrace the light of His Son, Jesus. This scripture reminds us of the incredible dignity bestowed upon us at Baptism. We were claimed for Christ, anointed priest, prophet, and king, precisely so that we could “announce the praises” of the One who saved us. Living out your baptismal promises isn’t a burden; it’s our joyous response to His mercy, our participation in His ongoing work of restoring all creation to Himself. It’s about consciously choosing, day by day, to live as the chosen, beloved, mercy-received child of God that you are.
As we approach the Paschal Triduum, this identity is crucial. We walk with Christ through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection not as distant observers, but as His people, redeemed by His sacrifice, filled with His Spirit, and commissioned to share His light. Let this Lenten season culminate in a renewed “yes” to His merciful call, choosing to live fully in the identity He has graciously given you.
Prayer
Merciful Father, thank You for seeing me when I was lost, for calling me out of darkness into Your wonderful light. Thank You for Your infinite mercy that claims me as Your own. Strengthen me by Your Spirit to live as Your chosen child, part of Your holy nation, joyfully announcing Your praises in all I do. Amen.
Action
Today, identify one specific way you can “announce the praises” of God who called you into His light. Perhaps it’s sharing a word of hope with someone struggling, consciously choosing patience instead of frustration, or spending 5 minutes in silent gratitude simply thanking God for His mercy and the gift of your Baptism. Choose one small act that reflects your identity as God’s own.
The Kerygma
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post