Our Good News story for this week is one that shows up in one form or another in each of the four Gospels, a rarity to be sure. Luke's version tells it this way: an unnamed woman, known to be a "sinner," crashes a dinner party at a Pharisee's house to wash Jesus' feet with her tears, dry them with her hair, and anoint them with costly perfume. It's an intimate, extravagant, uncomfortable act...much, actually, like God's love for us. And in a wonderful flip, also the way we are to love others. It's a lot to consider in Lent, but we have 40 days...so let's dive in.

Lent, historically, at least, is a bit of a heavy season, with an emphasis on penitence, and self-reflection, and those things that are "wrong" in our lives and the life of the world. This year, we're shifting our focus a bit, to the fundamentals of the Gospel...the Good things that are the Good News. And so we start today with Good News from two places in the text, which highlight how the Gospel can surprise us...the Wedding at Cana, and Jesus' Parable of the Mustard Seed. Join us to talk joy, potential, and the goodness of life.

We've reached another classic section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the bit about salt and light. So familiar, so comforting, so...challenging?! But it is more than just a Sunday School song with neat little motions, it's about an entire way of life, bringing brightness and flavor to a dull and bland world. People will notice...and will be drawn to the source. But dull, bland, pointless...where does that get us? According to Jesus, not particularly far.