first Sunday of Lent

The first Sunday of Lent... My focus this Lent is my blog Glenferrie Gospel. I was wondering whether I should update it on Sundays - Sundays having the tradition of breaking the "fast" during the Lent period... I decided to rather spend a part of each Sunday deliberately reflecting on the story, the area of Glenferrie where I live near, and my interaction between both... So here goes...

I've always had the impression that as a foreigner to the time and location of the Gospel story that I missed much. If only I knew the customs, smells and sights it would unlock some hidden treasures of meaning for me... My study of John's Gospel over the years has debunked this idea totally. Sure, there's something to gain in some background knowledge, but in John particularly there is a sense that the whole story is set in front of a blank screen. A blue screen, perhaps, waiting for us to project our own context in it... Maybe.

The observation encouraged me to take a greater look at what can be found in my local area. I've since found many layers and facets of life down on Glenferrie Road, things that are lost when I describe the area simply as inner eastern middle-upper class Melbourne (which of course it is, but it also is not).

Who is in need in this area? 

Where are the poor? 

Where are the wealthy? None of these questions lead me to simple answers anymore. 

I'm encouraged to take the second, third and fourth look at what I see around me. I wonder if what I imagine Jesus doing in Glenferrie, the things that would make him happy, are anything near what actually interests or delights him. I wonder, so I go back for the fifth, sixth and seventh look around me...