THE BEAUTIFUL EMPTY - "Power" (Luke 4:1-13) - Rev. Mark Feldmeir - March 9, 2025

The Beautiful Empty: Lent 2025

March 9 – April 13

Blaise Pascal once spoke of the “God-shaped vacuum” in the heart of every person that can only be filled by God. Yet we spend so much of our lives trying to fill that vacuum with everything but God. When we feel worthless, we seek validation from our work. When we suffer from loneliness, we turn to relationships to save us. When we experience boredom, we binge on entertainment. When we feel overwhelmed or self-conscious, we reach for altered states.  

The God-shaped hole only grows deeper and wider as we fill it with the things that do not satisfy. But the season of Lent invites us to let go of our attachments and dependencies, emptying ourselves of all our cheap substitutes for God, so we can finally see ourselves for who we really are—needy, imperfect, unfinished, still-becoming people in need of a tender, patient, gracious God. It’s only by experiencing our emptiness that the God-shaped hole can finally be filled, healed, and blessed by that which truly satisfies.