March

            On Wednesday evenings in Lent I am doing a series I call “New Life in Old Words.”

            The words we are thinking about are old both in the sense of being at the heart of the Christian tradition since the beginning and in the sense of being considered by many to be old-fashioned, out-of-date, out-of-touch with contemporary views of culture and Christianity.  They are words that have fallen on hard times, words such as these: Repentance, Obedience, Servanthood, Sacrifice, Discipline.

            But in these old words, I think, can be found new life, the new and abundant life Jesus came to give his followers.  These old words are, in fact, steps toward that new life.  To turn back to God and live our lives before God, to obey, to serve, to sacrifice, to live with discipline, is to little by little become new selves who lead lives abundant with courage, hope, joy.

            I was also thinking, however, of calling the series something else: “Hard Words for Hard Times.”  Or maybe: “Tough Words for Tough Times.”  Something like that.

             Because these old words are hard, tough words for many people: hard to hear, tough to live, not easy to swallow.  For some people, a couple of these words are bad words, almost obscene, words that run counter to cultural understandings of what makes for healthy lives and run counter as well to new views of the Christian life.  And yet maybe hard, tough times demand hard, tough words.

            And we do live in hard, tough times, that’s for sure: the economic crisis we are in; the number of people who have lost their jobs and are struggling financially; the fear and uncertainty, anger and helplessness many feel; the prospect of a long, slow recovery; so many dreams and plans put on hold, if not shattered.  The temptation of course in such times is to speak easy words of comfort, trite words that do not speak to the truth of what has happened and what people are experiencing.  So maybe what’s needed are hard words, because in those words there is great hope, the hope that comes in living the new way Jesus calls us to.

            What these old words point to is what has been lacking in our culture and Christianity for some time now, but they also point to the changes we must make if we are to have a different kind of future.  That is the hope they give.  At first blush, however, it maybe be difficult to see this — to see how repentance or obedience or the other words speak to our times.

            Well, take repentance.  One author has said that to repent means to come to your senses, realize how you have been living, and turn back toward God.  In other words, it means to confess your sin.  And a good question is: In what ways — both as individuals and as a nation — do we need to come to our senses?  Could it have anything to do with living as if there are no limits, serving all the little gods of our culture, greed, nothing ever enough, trusting more in our devices than in God?  Could be.  And obedience?  Parents no long demand obedience from their children; they just ask that they don’t burn the house down.  Seems like we’ve managed to set the house on fire, doesn’t it?  Parents may no longer demand obedience from their children, but God still demands it from his children.  To obey God is to order our thoughts and wants and behavior according to his purposes, not simply our own.  Maybe a little re-ordering of our lives and nation is just what the doctor ordered.  And servanthood?  Many Christians believe that God exists to serve them, give them whatever they want.  Nonsense.  Jesus came not to serve our needs but to set us free to serve God — to live with love for God and the neighbor.  When was the last time you thought of a politician as a “public servant.”  How do you see corporate heads — as pretty much self-serving?  And you and I?  Are we simply takers of God’s gifts or are we givers — servants?  Then there’s sacrifice.  In the Christian sense it means losing yourself for love’s sake, suffering loss for the sake of God, some higher purpose.  Our culture preaches that we can buy happiness and promises that we can have everything without personal cost or sacrifice.  It’s a lie.  The only things worth having or doing demand sacrifice and the only life worth living is a life willing to give itself away for love’s sake.  That’s a truth that might turn things around.  And finally, whatever happened to discipline?  Without discipline our thoughts become a mad jumble, we fall prey to  despair or anger or bitterness, we become like little children in a toy store who want everything because they have no idea what they truly want or need, and form no lasting habits or virtues such as courage or compassion or honesty or thrift.  Now there’s a word that points the way forward!

            Hard words, tough words.  But good words for hard, tough times: Repentance, Obedience, Servanthood, Sacrifice, Discipline.  Words of hope, new life, because they bring us back into relationship with the God who is the source of true hope and who sees us through the toughest of times to new life, and because they show us what living before God looks like.

            Oh yes, there’s one other word, the last word in the series I’m doing: Joy.  That is what it all leads to.  And if you doubt me, all I can say is try living out these old words and see what comes.