Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: What is God Really Asking Of Us This Lent?

Sunday, 15 February 2026

As I listened to the Gospel and Homily today, I had one of those moments. That I-hear-you-and-see-you-wink-wink kind of moment where God so directly answered me that it was impossible to miss.

During the last week I’ve been thinking about how I could lean into a different kind of Lent, less focused on giving something up and more working on the interior. I’ve prayed about it and asked God to maybe give me a little hint as to what I need to work on.

And in today’s Gospel, funnily enough, we hear Jesus speak about the laws and rules of the Torah versus the internal heart. He tells his followers that it isn’t enough to simply avoid sins like murder or adultery, but to look at the roots of those actions: anger, contempt, and lust. Outward piety, such as that of the Pharisees and teachers, isn’t enough to undo the sins of the heart that may not be obvious to others.

Standing on the threshold of Lent, this passage serves as a kind of spiritual inventory-taking. Lent is often a time when we focus on what we’re doing (or not doing) on the outside: fasting, penance, extra prayers. But Jesus’ words here remind us that Lent is also about what’s going on in our hearts. It’s the season where we can ask God to help us examine the hidden corners where we may still harbour resentment, or the areas where we struggle to be true people of integrity.

As I listened it occured to me that this felt almost divinely connected to what I wrote about in a recent post: surrender. Initially I thought of it simply in terms of letting go of the myth that we’re in control of everything, but the fact is that we can’t really achieve the kind of righteousness that Jesus describes by sheer willpower, or tighter control. Instead, we must first surrender our pride, admit that we need his grace to even want to live a God-centred life. Surrender to His way over ours.

And so it is that by the time I sat down to write this post, pondering on the Gospel and the words of my Priest, I felt like I had an answer to my question: my task this Lent is to work on surrender.

On the cusp of Ash Wednesday, this Gospel feels like an invitation. Instead of planning what I’ll do for Lent; I’m instead asking God what He wants to do within me. I’m being called to move beyond the bare minimum of simply giving up coffee or chocolate, and into the expansive, difficult, and beautiful freedom of a heart fully surrendered to Him.