"Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God." Jl 2:13
Repentance or conversion, to which the church calls us as Lent begins, is really quite simple. We are to stop worrying about our troubles, our self image, our wealth, our health and everything else that distracts us from God. Lent is a time to turn to God again. We are to think about what God wants of us and from us. We are to ask for insight to know God's will and the faith to do it. It is as if we have been sitting looking out a window, which might be very lovely and relaxing, but is not what God is asking of us. God is asking us to look at God and return to our belief in the Good News. Conversion is an English translation of the Greek word, metanoia which simple means to turn back or to turn around. Admitting we are lost in our own fantasies or struggles is the first step. Turning away from them to God is the beginning of our ongoing conversion.
Karl Rahner said it well but in a different key in the last century. "The Christian of tomorrow will be a mystic, or not a Christian at all." That God is calling all of us to be mystics may be counter intuitive, but it is clearly one of the tasks of Lent. We need to take time to "gaze" at God and not at our own belly buttons. We need to open our eyes and spirits to everything swirling around us and find God at the center. God is here. Always and in all ways. God is present not only in the enriching, enlivening, uplifting moments of life. God is present when we worry, suffer, obsess and walk away. Lent is about finding God by turning away from everything that distracts us and turning back to God. It is simple, but very difficult and will not be accomplished overnight.
Today ask God to call your name so that you might turn to God again.
Share a moment of conversion that you experienced.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Mardi Gras
"Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you." Ps 55
Though Mardi Gras is not celebrated in Northeastern United States with the same vigor as one might find in New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro, it ought to be. Mardi Gras reminds us that while Lent challenges us to abstain from meat, especially on Fridays, and fast throughout the forty days, we do this, not because meat and food is bad, but because we sometimes take the simple joy of eating for granted.
More important, we often take faith for granted until we are tested. Mardi Gras reminds us not only to enjoy the delights of the palate, to savor them and to create a world in which everyone eats, it invites us to ready ourselves for the great pilgrimage of Lent when we plunge more deeply into the mysteries of faith.
As the colors of Mardi Gras, purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power, remind us, Christ came to establish justice for all, to deepen our faith and remind us that God is the source of all our power. Eat heartily today, enjoy the delights that God places before you and let us recommit ourselves to shaping a nation and world that demands clean water, adequate food, decent housing,and dignified work for all.
Today, take your time eating and be grateful for whatever you have.
Is there a Mardi Gras custom that brings you delight and challenges your faith?
Though Mardi Gras is not celebrated in Northeastern United States with the same vigor as one might find in New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro, it ought to be. Mardi Gras reminds us that while Lent challenges us to abstain from meat, especially on Fridays, and fast throughout the forty days, we do this, not because meat and food is bad, but because we sometimes take the simple joy of eating for granted.
More important, we often take faith for granted until we are tested. Mardi Gras reminds us not only to enjoy the delights of the palate, to savor them and to create a world in which everyone eats, it invites us to ready ourselves for the great pilgrimage of Lent when we plunge more deeply into the mysteries of faith.
As the colors of Mardi Gras, purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power, remind us, Christ came to establish justice for all, to deepen our faith and remind us that God is the source of all our power. Eat heartily today, enjoy the delights that God places before you and let us recommit ourselves to shaping a nation and world that demands clean water, adequate food, decent housing,and dignified work for all.
Today, take your time eating and be grateful for whatever you have.
Is there a Mardi Gras custom that brings you delight and challenges your faith?
Monday, February 20, 2012
Ambition
"For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice." Jas 3:16
Selfish ambition is a tough nut to crack, especially in a culture like the United States. Almost every day our children hear that they can strive for anything in this country, and if they work hard enough they can fulfill their dreams. While this is part of the "myth" of the United States and continues to draw people from all over the world to our country as immigrants, it is a dangerous notion when left unexamined.
Ambition can be a virtue when it is sandwiched by compassion and integrity. Who would challenge a young person wanting to do something to help the hungry, homeless and jobless in our country or around the world? But when ambition is naked and unaccompanied by compassion for others and deep integrity it can lead to selfishness and the inability to consider any one else's needs or rights in the pursuit of one's dream.
All of us know people like this, and, of course, there is a bit of the selfish, worried, and self -absorbed person in all of us, but we cannot allow the "sinner" in us to direct, much less, dominate our behavior. Selfish ambition may lead to success in a career, but it can also leave us empty and confused. As Jesus says, "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" (Mt 16:26)
Today ask God to fill you with compassion and integrity to combat any naked ambition.
Has ambition ever undermined your life or the life of your community? Please leave a comment.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
No one is an Island
"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main." John Donne
John Donne's wisdom is perhaps even more true today than when it was written in the 16th century. Unless we find a way to see ourselves in relationship to one another as human beings, and for some of us in faith, we risk isolation and violence. Only when we remember how connected we are to one another in the human family, can we avoid treating others as objects blocking our path to pleasure or accomplishment.
Isaiah and Jesus remind us of this truth in today's scriptures. Isaiah insists that God not only forgives, God forgets when he writes, "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!" (Is 43:18) Despite the unfaithfulness of the Jewish people who have been set free and led to the Promised Land, God promises to put aside their weakness and failures to do "something new."
In a similar way, Jesus, unlike so many times when he acknowledges the faith of those seeking his mercy, celebrates the faith of the four people who carry their friend to Jesus and lower him through the roof. It is the faith of his friends that makes it possible for Jesus to heal the paralytic. No one is an island, Jesus implies. Without the help and faith of friends, especially when we feel lost, broken and alone, we cannot approach Jesus or even remember the foundational truths of our faith. Furthermore, while it is usually easy for us to help others when they are in need, we resist the help of others by often insisting that we are "all right," or "fine," when we are a mess.
Today, take a moment to thank God for those times when the unasked for help of others healed you and set you free.
Can you remember a time when someone else helped you when you were unable to help yourself? Tell others about it.
John Donne's wisdom is perhaps even more true today than when it was written in the 16th century. Unless we find a way to see ourselves in relationship to one another as human beings, and for some of us in faith, we risk isolation and violence. Only when we remember how connected we are to one another in the human family, can we avoid treating others as objects blocking our path to pleasure or accomplishment.
Isaiah and Jesus remind us of this truth in today's scriptures. Isaiah insists that God not only forgives, God forgets when he writes, "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!" (Is 43:18) Despite the unfaithfulness of the Jewish people who have been set free and led to the Promised Land, God promises to put aside their weakness and failures to do "something new."
In a similar way, Jesus, unlike so many times when he acknowledges the faith of those seeking his mercy, celebrates the faith of the four people who carry their friend to Jesus and lower him through the roof. It is the faith of his friends that makes it possible for Jesus to heal the paralytic. No one is an island, Jesus implies. Without the help and faith of friends, especially when we feel lost, broken and alone, we cannot approach Jesus or even remember the foundational truths of our faith. Furthermore, while it is usually easy for us to help others when they are in need, we resist the help of others by often insisting that we are "all right," or "fine," when we are a mess.
Today, take a moment to thank God for those times when the unasked for help of others healed you and set you free.
Can you remember a time when someone else helped you when you were unable to help yourself? Tell others about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)