February
In the
Scribe there is an article about the origins of the Season of Lent.
But there is another way to explain it. This author suggests that Lent
came about because Christians had become far too comfortable with their faith.
After the initial rush of Christian
enthusiasm was over and Christ did not return as he said he would and
Christianity became the religion of the empire, believers started to become very
ho-hum about their faith. "They hung a wooden cross on the wall," the
author writes, "and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines,
remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the
other enthusiasms of their youth. Oh, to be young again and believe that
everything is possible. Little by little, Christians became devoted to
their comforts instead: the soft couch, the flannel sheets, the leg of lamb
roasted with rosemary. These things made them feel safe and cared for - if
not by God, then by themselves. They decided there was no contradiction
between being comfortable and being Christian, and before long it was very hard
to pick them out from the population at large. They no longer
distinguished themselves by their bold love for one another. They did not
get arrested for championing the poor. They blended in. They avoided
extremes. They decided to be nice instead of holy and God groaned out
loud."
Hearing God groan, someone suggested
that it was time to call Christians back to their senses, and the Bible offered
some clues about how to do that. Israel spent forty years in the
wilderness learning what it meant to be God's peculiar people and learning to
trust God. Moses spent forty days on Mt. Sinai listening to God, and
Elijah spent forty days on the same mountain waiting for the still small voice
of God. And then there was Jesus: forty days in the wilderness preparing
for his ministry, being put to the test.
And so Lent came about to help
Christians find out what they were made of, if they had what it took, if they
still had the commitment and passion and willingness to be uncomfortable.
This same author point out that, interestingly enough, the word lent comes from
the Old English word meaning "spring," and so Lent is meant to be not simply the
season of spring before Easter, "but also an invitation to a springtime for the
soul." It is a time to cleanse the system, be refreshed with new faith and
passion. It is time to re discover what we can be in the power of God.
Who we truly are and can be.
But how do we actually do that?
Well, a theologian made a suggestion 150 years ago that I think is still a good
suggestion. He wrote, "Ah, it gets so turned around! We think that
religiousness, instead of being a matter of every individual's going alone into
his private room to talk softly with himself, is a matter of talking very
loudly." And it still gets turned around today. Many still think
that religiousness - following Christ, being Christian - is a matter of talking
very loudly about about how much he or she believes, what a fine Christian
person he or she is, how much they love Jesus. Or think that Christians
are formed by talking very loudly, even shouting, threatening, pounding the
pulpit, condemning, coercing , cajoling people to believe and behave in a
certain way. But if ever our lives are to conform to Christ, it will be
because we each go into our private room and talk softly with ourselves about
some things. The same theologian wrote this: "Busyness makes it almost
impossible to form a heart." And that's also true 150 years later.
When we are busy with a million thoughts, a million demands and things to do,
and a million worries too, or just busy with this or that, busy running here and
there - and not even sure why - busy with things that perhaps do not matter much
but afraid to stop, needing to stay busy, it's almost impossible to form a
heart; to know what we love or should love, the wants that matter, or to have
room for Christ and grow in faith and know hope, courage, joy.
And so, somehow that's what we must
do during Lent: talk softly with ourselves about some things; quiet for a moment
our busy lives and our busy minds and seek to form our heart anew. And
maybe that will mean taking the time, making the time, to come on Wednesday
evenings and think and pray and talk with ourselves and commune. Or maybe
it will mean taking time, making time, each day to talk softly with ourselves
and form our hearts around Christ. Or doing something else that helps us
stop for a while and come to our senses. To ask who we are, what we are
made of.
And what are we to talk about with
ourselves? Only each of us can answer that for ourselves. But here
are some starters. Do we seek to comfortable more than committed, have we
lost our passion for Christ, would anyone pick us out of the crowd because of
our faith and kindness and compassion? Have we come to worship success,
money in the bank to the pint that we have compromised our belief and no longer
live with bold love - blend in rather than stand out? Do we ever champion
the poor, cry out against injustice, work to bring reconciliation and
peace, protest prejudice and cruelty, stand for what is good and right? Is
there anything we so passionately believe in we would risk ourselves, even give
our lives for the sake of?
To ask ourselves such things, talk
softly with ourselves about such things, is to be refreshed with new faith and
passion.
And to hear God no longer groan out
loud but laugh with joy because of what we are once again.
God be with you,
Jeff