Lenten Reflection
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Lent is a time when I am invited to experience who I am in God’s eyes, in God’s heart. The anointing of ashes reminds me that I am nothing – I came from dust and I will return to dust.But the invitation is to return to the most significant of relationships. God’s desire is that I am available, open to experience God’s constant love, peace and mercy. In the experience of God’s gentle love and mercy I will also experience the shame and confusion of my brokenness, the world’s brokenness. Lent is not about my scuffling about in my darkest self and dwelling there. It is about moving more deeply into intimacy with God, coming home to God the source of all goodness, light and love.
The gospel tells me that whatever deeds I do — almsgiving, prayer, fasting – must come out of a genuine response to God’s love, not performed in order to gain God’s love, or impress others – both futile.Deeds, especially Lenten deeds, are meant to be a reflection of the growing intimacy between me and God.And just possibly, my unique expression of love, gratitude or shame will be something entirely different – unique to me!In the intimacy of our relationship I will know the proper response for me to make to God.
Lent is the season of deepening intimacy with Jesus. An excitingtime. Jesus came because of the great love for me, for all of us. Jesus stayed and Jesus died for love of me, his beloved.A pure gift from the Lover to the beloved – me.did I ever do to deserve this love? I have not earned this love, but am continually invited, coaxed and being lured into this rich and holy relationship.will come to know. God will reveal my brokenness and my lovableness - and I will want to give back, to respond lovingly to this gratuitous love. As I walk with Jesus during these lenten days, I beg to share in Jesus’ joys and friendships, as well as his sufferings, trials, and betrayals.I invite Jesus into my own sufferings, trials, and betrayals, as well as my joys.beg for the graces of shame and confusion surrounding my brokenness and that of the world and also for the grace of gratitude for Love.
Jesus’ Lenten invitation, come with me, walk with me, eat with me, laugh and weep with me.And I with you.Be not afraid. Be at peace. Listen with your heart as I tell you my story and I will listen heartfully to your story. Listen as I reveal you to you. Do not trouble you heart about what to do or how to do it.It will blossom out of our mutual experience.
During the days of Lent what unique something will I bring to our relationship? What is it that I am being invited to do, not to do, who to be with, who not to be with? How will I express my love, my gratitude, my shame? All the while living in the irony that I am of so little worth, yet I am of such great value! The good news is: In God’s heart….I am priceless.
Lenten road,
four-laned royal way,
lead me to my Beloved
in these penitential days
of prayerful pilgrimage.
Royal and rich is the roadway
of earnest prayer and worship,
and blessed are those who travel it.
They will find in the cave of their hearts
the One whom they seek.
Royal and treasure-filled
is the land of study and reading,
hours spent in feeding the soul
with food of knowledge,
insights into the divine nature.
Royal and compassionate
is the avenue of alms-giving
and of working for the poor.
Twice-blessed are those
who give of self and treasure
as a Lenten work of worship.
Royal and fertile with life
is the lane of discipline,
fast and abstinence,
which makes all disciples
aware of their dependence
on the truest ground of being,
carrying every pilgrim
homeward bound.
Spirit of holiness, come to my aid,
that I might walk with prayerful passion,
during these penitential days,
on all four lanes
of heaven’s Lenten Royal Road. Amen.
Is anyone listening?
IN ROME Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone advised the Irish bishops: "Only if we arrive at an authentic and sincere humility can the grace of God truly work deeply for us and thus realise a true renewal." Challenging words, not only for a church in trouble but for all Christians at all times.
Humility is not to be confused with false modesty. It is rather an attitude which enables us to live the Christian life more fully. Archbishop Anthony Bloom had this to say about humility:
"Humility is the attitude of one who stands constantly under the judgment of God. It is the attitude of one who is like the soil. Humility comes from the Latin word humus, fertile ground .. .It is so low that nothing can abase it, humiliate it; it has accepted the last place and cannot go any lower."
That is not the image of the church that the world sees right now.
Lent, which began last Wednesday, is the season when we recall the desert experience of Jesus, when he struggled with the temptation to abuse his power and effectively betray his mission. The message of that encounter is that anything that could frustrate or damage the gospel cause must go. And that is a message that churches so often seem unable to take on board because they are preoccupied with the wrong things, with power and control, with wealth and prestige, putting the interests of the institution above the things that really matter --love, truth, integrity, justice and so much more.
Lent emphasises the importance of self-denial which is not so much about giving up on oneself but rather discovering one's true self. This is not an easy option, but it is important because true self-denial teaches us that we are not the final measure of our worth, that we are not the limit of our potential. Self-denial can be a process of growth and discovery but we find it difficult because too often we are living a lie, we are prisoners of an illusion of success - the self-made man or woman - trapped by our attachment to things that have little value and controlled by what other people think about us or more likely what we would like them to think about us. We are no longer defined by who we really are.
Anthony Bloom uses the story of Zaccheus in the gospel to explore this point. Zaccheus was an official of the Roman empire, a man of means who was very conscious of his public image. "When Zaccheus heard that Christ was passing through Jericho, his desire to meet him was so strong that he forgot that he might become ridiculous, which is for us much worse than a great many evils, and he ran, this respectable citizen and he climbed up a tree.
"He could be seen by the whole crowd and it is difficult to doubt that a great many laughed. But such was his desire to meet Jesus that he forgot to worry about the opinions of other people; he became independent of anyone's judgment and at that moment he was completely himself; he was Zaccheus the man, not the publican or the rich man or the citizen but the man."
Self-denial is about the discovery of the essential man or woman, the real you or me, free of false images and the illusion of self-sufficiency. It is also about the discovery of the potential for good that is in all of us when we focus on the real Jesus. And what is true for us individually is true for the church collectively.
Cardinal Bertone's words were fine words but they are only words and time will tell if anyone was listening.
"To be a saint does not mean never to sin. It means to start again with humility and joy after each fall." - Dom Helder Camara.
GL
(Thinking Anew: Irish Times 20/02/2010)
