When
you give alms. When you pray. When you fast.
These
are things Jesus expects us to do as part of our faith lives. It’s important to know that we do these
things as part of our FAITH lives, not as part of
our public lives. In other words, we
give, pray and fast in order to develop our relationship with God. We do not do these things to show others how
good or how pious we are.
Today
is the first day of Lent. This is the
day that, traditionally, has the same feel as New Year’s. Today I resolve to abstain from chocolate,
pray more, watch TV less, read the Bible daily, not swear . . . whatever. We eliminate, or try to eliminate, those
things that harm us. We take hold of, or
try to take hold of, those things that edify us. And like New Year’s, those resolutions
usually get swallowed up by the hustle and bustle of everyday life, falling
victim to schedules and deadlines and the simple fact that it is hard to change
our habits.
But
Lent does more than ask us to make sacrifices, either negative or positive,
simply for the sake of the season. Lent asks
us to use this time as a way to draw nearer to God through self-examination,
prayer, fasting, meditating and giving. Lent
is the time we intentionally draw nearer to God, with the intention of being
transfigured. Lent is the time that
helps us live into the Collect of this past Sunday: Grant that we may be
strengthened to bear our cross and be changed into his likeness.
Our
problem in observing and living into a holy Lent, though, is, quite simply,
everyday life. It is the hustle and
bustle, deadlines and commitments, and it is the difficulty of changing habits
when most of our habits are formed and dictated by the world we live in. Because, let’s face it, God doesn’t dock our
pay or fire us if we miss two or three consecutive worship services.
If
we are to live into a holy Lent in the midst of a busy world, then maybe we
need to escape from that world for a time.
Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness preparing for his ministry. The Israelites spent 40 years in the
wilderness preparing to enter the Promised Land. We also need to spend time in a wilderness
experience preparing for our own ministry, learning to bear our cross, in
preparation for entering the Promised Land of the Resurrection, and in developing
our relationship with God.
This
Lent, retreat into the wilderness, away from the hustle and bustle of the world
around you. Regardless of what Lenten
discipline you have chosen, whether it revolves around praying, fasting or
giving, enter the wilderness of your soul and reflect on the deeper meaning of
your discipline in solitude and silence.
For it will be in the silence of that wilderness where you begin to see
the world anew, and where you will experience the abundant nearness of God’s
love.
Amen.
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