Lent: Moving Further into the Reality of God

It may seem an odd thing, but every year I enjoy Lent just a bit more. At first glance it seems to be a season all about sin, confession, penitence, repentance, and penance. It can feel like we're all about finding out how bad we are and how sorry we ought to be. They're is room for that, but that dreary vision of Lent has very little Gospel, very little Good News, at all. Let's go a bit deeper.

Jesus said in John 3:17 that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." The message of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't "You're terrible!" The message is, "It doesn't have to be this way. YOU don't have to be stuck anymore." Or as Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matt. 10:7).

Sometimes we Christians miss the eternal perspective. We think, for instance, that the Salvation of Christ is something that happens after we die and once we reach Heaven. Or we think that the Salvation of Christ is about reforming our society in the here and now. When Christ saws, "The Kingdom of God is at hand" it means all of these! Salvation is about my own life here and now and the hope of Heaven after I die. Salvation is about a just, peaceful, and loving society here and now, and about Christ's coming again to straighten out all humankind. It is me and everyone. It is now and in the future.


In Advent we make room in our lives and communities for person of Jesus Christ. In Lent we make room in our lives and communities for what Christ is doing, namely altering our reality by overshadowing it with God's reality. In Advent Christ moves into our neighborhood (John 1:14, The Message). In Lent, God begins to move us into God's neighborhood. And then in Easter, we celebrate (in the present) the eternity of living in that neighborhood!

I think we can easily miss the Good News of this. We might be underestimating the power of God's reality now. Instead we buy into the world's reality. Our consumer society judges life based on what you produce (your career and income level) and what you consume (lifestyle). God's reality is based on who you are (intrinsic value) and how God is working in your for the benefit of you and others (mission and ministry). In a materialistic society, what we own or can buy is prized. In God's reality the gifts of God has given us and gives through us are most prized. In an imperfect world we become perfectionists or pessimists. In God's reality, we become a people of redemption and hope - all things can and will be fixed!


The good things of the Kingdom of God are unatainable in this life, because at Baptism, "this life" begins our eternal life. When Jesus says, "The Kingdom of God is among you," in Luke 17:20 (emphasis mine), Christ is saying stop looking elsewhere! It's right here, now, with you, and with those gathered around Christ.

This Lent I hope and pray both you and I find the joy of moving a bit further into God's neighborhood, of buying into God's reality, and giving up that old life that is so unbecoming of the Children of Heaven.

"The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Gospel."  (Mark 1:14-15)

A Reflection for Thursday, Lent 1, Year C

A depiction of 'Christian' fromm John Bunyan's Pligrim's Progress

"Strengthen us, O Lord, 

by your grace, 

that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, 

and with pure hearts serve you; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, 

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, 

for ever and ever. 

Amen." 

The collect above is proscribed for the Thursday of Lent 1 by the Episcopal Church's book, Holy Women, Holy Men (p. 39). 

For reflection: In the ancient martial classic, The Art of War, Sun Tzu said "Know your enemy" (Ch. 3, last sentence). What spiritual enemies are opposing your life in Christ? How about the spiritual enemies your Christian community or Church faces? Name them. How may we face those enemies with God's grace and might, yet maintain a 'pure heart' in service to God? 

Read, reflect on, and pray Psalm 35. 

How to Find Time for God

It's ironic. We frequently find that we have little time in our lives for the One who created and gave us our time. But there it is, sad and true. Many of us want to take some time out for God, but somehow we never quite get there. Is there any help for us, beyond guilt-ridden consciences? Absolutely.

A Story. When I was a seminarian, I sat before a group of lay persons and we discussed God's calling on my life. My bishop had told all the seminarians that we were now "under orders", meaning that several things were no longer optional, including daily Morning and Evening Prayer. I confessed to my group that I just couldn't do it. There was no time. The expectations were too high, too unreasonable given all the other things I was expected to do. I've never forgotten what the Sr. Warden said to me, in part because it ticked me off. He said, "If it's important to you, you'll do it."

Well! Imagine the nerve! He was implying that making time for God was just not as important to me as other things! And he was right. Oh, I thought prayer and worship and spirituality were important, but I hadn't made them as important as other things in my life. There is a reason why God linked sacrifice with forming a bond and connection with the Divine. We may not be offering sheep and bulls anymore, but finding time with God today still requires a sacrifice. We must lay our schedules, priorities, desires, needs, and wants on the altar.

"Why would we do that!?" For the same reason we do it with other relationships. We often sacrifice for our families, friends, careers, habits, and needs. We do it because it brings us pleasure or we receive or hope to receive something greater than what we sacrificed. For instance, I make time for my wife and family because they are more important than many other things and our relationships will outlast my career or whatever else threatens to get in the way. In the end, my priorities are determined by my perspective.

"So how about some concrete steps?" Sure. Here are some suggestions, but be aware that like all relationships, your relationship with God is dynamic. There's no simple and guaranteed method. Most of it boils down to just figuring out what works for you. And that is part of the challenge and  part of the adventure. Below are four concrete steps to help you and God figure it out together.

1) Develop your perspective. Write down why you think God wants to spend time with you and why you would want to spend time with God. What are the benefits? Why do you want this to be important? Can you connect a positive relationship with God to the benefit of other priorities? An example on my benefits list is, "I will be a better dad if I nurture my relationship with God." Rehearse the this list by posting it and reading it frequently throughout your week. Pray about it, tell God who you are and who you want to be.

2) Start small. Consistency is more important than length or content at first. Think of it as God wanting to check in with you every day, even if its just the length of a text message with less than 160 characters. A verse and a small prayer is sufficient to start. With consistent practice, you will begin to find that "short" is not long enough.

3) Remove barriers. As you encounter barriers, write them down. Then make it your goal to remove items from the list or otherwise diminish their effectiveness. For instance, next to "I keep forgetting" put "Make appointment times for God in my schedule." Don't forget to pray about them, too. "God, when I forget you, don't forget me. Call me back to you."

4) Talk about it. Our spiritual lives are personal, but not private. We are not called to hide our relationship with God, but to share with others God's activity in our lives (see Psalm 40:11). In doing so we find we aren't alone in our struggles or in experiencing God's miraculous activity. So ask what others do and what they've experienced. Ask for prayer and offer to pray for others.

Let's check in with God and let's check in with each other. It's all just part of being the Family of God.


   

Overwhelmed? Empty? Finding our Balance in Life

It's November and here they come... the Holidays:
   Tons of food with calories galore,
       lots of family and all those complicated relationships,
           gifts and decor to buy with increased spending, bills, and debt,
     or perhaps none of these. Maybe the Holidays leave us feeling utterly desolate and hollow. Or maybe overwhelmed and hollow.

Isn't there a balance? Must we be either overwhelmed with too much or left feeling empty and hollow?


The Christian spiritual discipline answering that question is called "stewardship". Now before you move on to something else, hear me out. I'm not speaking primarily of money. I'm speaking of governing everything God has given us in this life, including time, relationships, skills, character, and wealth.

Stewardship IS the counterbalance to feeling overwhelmed by life or feeling life is hollow. The fundamental paradigm of stewardship is this:

All we have is given us by God and none of it truly belongs to us. 

Our time is life is limited. The amount of money we can make in a lifetime is limited. The number of skills and talents we can develop is limited. Even the number of meaningful relationships we can have is limited. Thus stewardship is the spiritual discipline of using all these well, to their full potential.

That might sound like 'investing', using our resources well to maximize their potential, but there is a key difference between investing and stewardship. Investing is designed to serve our own personal ends, whether personal gain, philanthropy, or future planning. Conversely, stewardship is aimed at whatever God is aiming at. We never achieve lasting balance by getting what we selfishly want. What God wants is ultimate abundance and equity for all. But, like successful investing, wise stewardship doesn't happen accidentally! Thus the second key to stewardship and to balance is this:

God knows better than I, the greatest good that can come from the gifts God has given me. 

Let's go back to the Holidays and either being overwhelmed or left bereft. The balance of stewardship comes from appealing to God's will over our own and over the pressures of society and family. Just because we want it doesn't mean we should get it. Just because others ask it of you doesn't mean you have to give it. Stewardship is asking "What does God want of me with what God has given me" and knowing that God will give you everything necessary to do what God hopes of you.

Stewardship keeps us from straining to acquire, hoard, and protect what is ultimately God's. And stewardship protects us from coming away empty handed in the end. Be good stewards. Find the balance God intends for your life.