Today's Devotion

Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026 - Mark 1:1-13

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

We begin Lent by beginning at “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” St. Mark’s Gospel gets right to the point: Jesus the Christ is presented to the world by John the Baptist – whose own ministry was heralded by Isaiah the Prophet. John baptizes Jesus, who then begins His ministry with a forty day fast in the wilderness “being tempted by Satan.”

St. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest. It is the most direct. It is driven by the narrative. It moves quickly from one scene in the life of our Lord to the next. A word that the Evangelist uses often is “immediately.” It is as if St. Mark only has a small scroll and a short time to write. He has a lot to say, and not a lot of time to say it.

This is a bit like these forty days. It is the great penitential time of the year. It is a time of self-examination, repentance, and a heavier encounter with God’s Word. It is a time of confession, and if possible, a time to receive the body and blood of Christ more frequently. It is a time of prayer. And given that Sundays in Lent are a relaxation of fasting, and an easing of disciplines that you may adopt, it is a series of sprints – six weeks in a great countdown to Easter, when the feast is restored, and when we exchange our Psalms of lament for songs of joy.

We do not have to go into the desert with wild animals as did our Lord. We don’t have to forego food for forty days. But we are always being tempted by the devil. Given the luxurious lives that most of us live compared to even kings of the first century, simply skipping meals and committing to reading the Scriptures or devotional works or attending an extra worship service during the week is enough to draw the devil’s wrath. But we can rest assured that even as “angels were ministering to Him,” so they serve us as well. We have nothing to fear. For Jesus Himself has promised to be with us “always,” even if the world should end before this coming Easter (Matt 28:20).

And whether we are sons or daughters, whether we are “bad” or “good,” we are invited (Matt 22:9-10) to apply these words to ourselves, even as the Father applies them to Jesus: “You are My beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Our disciplines are not designed to earn God’s favor, but rather to build on the fact that in Christ, God is pleased, and we live intentionally within that holiness that is ours in Christ. Lent is a time of focus and reorientation toward the cross.

For this is the beginning and the end of the Gospel of Jesus: the Good News that the Christ has come to redeem the world, to battle Satan, and to invite us to walk the path eternally with Him. And while we live here in time and in this fallen world, let us begin this forty day Lenten walk together – with one another, with St. Mark, with the angels, and with Jesus.

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.