Ash Wednesday seems to convey an attitude of solemnity. The frivolity of Mardi Gras—Fat Tuesday—has ended, and suddenly the world looks at itself in the harsh light of reality, taking stock of its condition. For many this is a glass-half-empty proposition because what the light of reality exposes is sometimes difficult to look at—the prevalence of poverty and depravity throughout the world, the widespread frequency of violent and destructive conflict, the exhausting presence of personal hostility and stress. It’s easy to be solemn when this is the extent of your reality. But for Christians, Ash Wednesday and Lent are glass-half-full propositions. Jesus came to tell us that God envisions something more for us, something more than hopelessness, something more than pessimism, something more than discouragement. Jesus came to tell us that we don’t have to be somber or depressed because joy is a realistic prospect; indeed, Jesus came that we might have joy.

Hope and optimism are what mission is all about. Mission is about looking at poverty and seeing the potential for development; it’s about looking at conflict and seeing the potential for peace; it’s about looking at distress and seeing the potential for faith and trust. Mission is a visible demonstration of the fact that the church of Jesus Christ is actively involved in bringing about the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. It’s an illustration of our confidence in God’s vision for humankind: “Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight” (Isa. 65:18).

—Rev. Curtis A. Kearns, Jr., executive administrator, General Assembly Council