"We remember the wilderness days of Jesus: his lonely struggle with the inner tempter, with wild beasts for company and angels attending to his needs. We struggle too, in a cluttered wilderness of busy-ness, possessed by our possessions. We leave no room for wild beasts or angels. We cannot see the starlit glory of the desert sky. Holy One, help us to be still... The wilderness is not a place to stay, we are not born for solitude. Jesus wrestled there alone and won his holy struggle with himself. Then he left it, knowing his purpose. May we too leave the wilderness with new resolve."
From A Lenten Meditation by Cliff Reed
"'Repent' means 'Turn to God.' .. During Lent.. we are invited to a conversion: not to turn towards ourselves in introspection or individual perfectionism, but to seek communion with God and also communion with others.. Lent is a season that invites us to share.. During this time of Lent let us dare to review our lifestyle, not to make those who do less feel guilty, but for the sake of solidarity with the deprived. The gospel encourages us to share freely while setting everything in the simple beauty of creation.”
Brother Alois, Prior of the Taize Community.
In the Catholic tradition, the three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I like to translate these as: prayer, care, and share or giving to God/ Spirit/Love/however you like to name the sacred, giving to ourselves, and giving to others. For me, these are invitations to deepening into spiritual practice, to simplicity, and to focus on helping others – time to let go of the things I don't need and focus on the essentials, to love silence, nourish my soul, and pay attention to what I can do for the benefit of others.
In the gospel stories, we are told that the Spirit that descends upon Jesus at his baptism, drives him into the wilderness, where he spends forty days praying and fasting, accompanied by wild beasts, angels, and satanic visions:
“"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”" Mark 1:9-15
If you are familiar with indigenous American spirituality, you might recognize this as a vision quest, an initiation, when the individual spends time alone in nature without food, communing with the spirits in order to receive guidance on the way forward. In other words, this is a time of discernment, from which Jesus emerges to begin his ministry.
I like to use Lent as a period of discernment – to focus on spending time in silence to listen for the still, small voice within – to discern where I will put my focus during the coming months of summer when I have more energy to be more active – to “leave the wilderness with new resolve” as Cliff Reed put it.
The Gospels of Luke and Matthew go into more detail than Mark about the temptations of Jesus. In Luke we are told,
“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:3-13
Commenting on this passage, Prof. Becky Horst writes, “In the desert, Jesus experiences three temptations, each more intense than the last.. He is able to reject comfort, security and control as motivators for his life. Instead he will embrace risk, vulnerability and suffering for a cause much larger than himself.”
I appreciate this invitation to discern or notice where I am motivated by comfort, security, and control, and to embrace risk, vulnerability, and (in place of the word suffering I'm going to use the word) discomfort, instead.
"Fast from hurting words … and say kind words. Fast from sadness … and be filled with gratitude. Fast from anger … and be filled with patience. Fast from pessimism … and be filled with hope. Fast from worries … and have trust in God. Fast from complaints … contemplate simplicity. Fast from pressures … and be prayerful. Fast from bitterness … fill your hearts with joy. Fast from selfishness … and be compassionate to others. Fast from grudges … and be reconciled. Fast from words … be silent and listen." Pope Francis
Pope Francis' wonderful words on fasting invite us to notice where we are behaving from anger or bitterness or selfishness, not to beat ourselves up, but to be inspired to cultivate positive alternatives - kindness, gratitude, patience, hope, trust, joy, compassion, forgiveness..
Perhaps this noticing is for me the main invitation of Lent – to notice and pay attention to both my inner and outer life – to notice and pay attention to the sacred in the ordinary – to be redeemed via “the radio, the hokey-cokey, and tins of cold custard” as Rabbi Lionel Blue once noted – in my case, those things may be podcasts, singing in the rain, and apple crumble.
Lent is also a time for me to accept Brother Alois' invitation that I began with to “dare to review our lifestyle.. for the sake of solidarity with the deprived” - to notice and pay attention to the resources I can share with others, whether that be money or time or kind words or a listening ear.
"Is such the fast I desire, a day for men to starve their bodies? Is it bowing the head like a bulrush and lying in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast, a day when the Lord is favourable? No, this is the fast I desire: To unlock fetters of wickedness and untie the cords of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin." Isaiah 58:5-7
The prophet Isaiah, never one to mince his words, makes it very clear here that fasting should not be about self-denial, but about bringing justice to those less fortunate than ourselves – freeing the oppressed, sharing our bread with the hungry and housing the poor.
Time and again the Hebrew prophets warned their people away from public displays of piety which tried to hide their hypocrisy, and reminded them that it is our motivations and actions that are important. Unitarians are inheritors of that wisdom, with our emphasis on 'deeds, not creeds.'
Blessing adapted from a prayer of St Ambrose,
“This Lent, let your door stand open to receive Love, unlock your soul, offer a welcome to all, and you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, and the joy of grace.” Amen.
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