Third Sunday in Lent AD 2026

How to follow God? Or rather (if we were to translate the opening words of today’s Epistle from the Greek literally), how to imitate God? We are not omniscient, as God is. We are not omnipotent, nor can we create worlds with a mere word, as God has done. We are not perfectly good, and unfortunately, we cannot say about ourselves what we say about God: that He is Love.

And yet, God, through His Apostle, calls us to follow Him. For even though we are not perfect, we are still capable of love. We can say no to evil if we want to, and we know how to do good. Even if someone tries to force us to live in a lie, we can still speak the truth and do what is right. We are able to distinguish between darkness and light, and we have the power to bring hope where there is despair.

For all of this, we need God’s grace. We need the light of Christ, which brings with it the forgiveness of sins, freedom from the burden of guilt, and a new life in righteousness and truth. Without Christ, we are like a wasteland, a battlefield for evil spirits. If Christ is with us, we need not fear, for He has overcome the devil, taken away all his armor and divided his spoils. And He promises us: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”