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…..
Our
lessons on this first Sunday in Lent have a number of aspects worth noting. I
would like to focus on three of them.
First,
emerging from the waters of the Jordan River Jesus hears the voice of the Holy
One whom he has always experienced in intimate, familial terms, addressing G-d as
Father. He has come to the Jordan River for baptism, responding to the calling
he experiences as coming from the Holy One. And in today’s Gospel, G_d affirms
Jesus’ response to that calling: “You are my Son, my Beloved; with you I am
well pleased.”
Such
an affirmation must have been overwhelming. Direct experiences of the living
G-d always are. As Lutheran scholar of religion Rudolf Otto described it,
encounters with the Holy One are shrouded in mystery, evoking both awe if not
terror as well as a compelling fascination drawing one to that mystery. Otto
called it the mysterium tremendum et fascinans.
So
it’s hardly surprising that Jesus felt driven by the Spirit into the wilderness
where he would remain the next 40 days, a common biblical reference indicating
a significant period of time. An experience of the divine is always unsettling,
destabilizing, disorienting. Jesus needs time alone with no distractions to
figure out what his calling means and how he will respond to it.
There
is much in this account on this first Sunday of Lent to inform all of us who
would follow Jesus. We, too, are beloved children of G_d as are all living
beings G-d has created bearing the divine image. And G-d is well pleased with
us, even when we doubt our own value. We, too, seek to respond to G_d’s call to
us in our lives as Franciscans. And, like Jesus, we, too need time alone, in
silence, stripped of the constant distractions that a world dominated by deafening
noise would no doubt see as a wilderness. We need to make sense of what G-d is
calling us to be and to do at this point in our spiritual journeys. And we must
stop talking and cut out the noise all around us long enough to hear G_d’s
voice.
There
is a reason the church has long marked a 40 day period of Lent.
But
how do we engage such an undertaking? What should we reflect upon? How do we
discern G-d’s voice among the chattering in our minds competing for our
attention, a condition that those who meditate often call our monkey mind? I
would like to suggest that the creators of today’s lectionary have given us a
framework to guide us. And it comes in the form of our psalm. Let’s hear portions
of it again, observing periodic moments of silence to engage the questions it
raises for us:
Psalm
25:1-9, Ad te, Domine, levavi
1 To
you, O Lord, I lift up my
soul; my God, I put my trust in you; *
let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
·
What are the aspects of my life I find easy to entrust to
the Holy One?
·
What aspects do I tightly hold onto, afraid to let go and
let G_d direct me?
·
What might my life look like if I did?
3 Show
me your ways, O Lord, * and
teach me your paths.
4 Lead
me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of my salvation; in you
have I trusted all the day long.
Callings change over lifetimes. Seeking
to discern what we are called to be and do here and now is an ongoing process.
·
What truths about myself, my soul, my world, does G_d have
to offer me this Lenten season?
·
What is G_d’s calling to me at this juncture of my life?
·
How can I know?
5
Remember, O Lord, your
compassion and love, *
for they are from everlasting.
Jesus was the revealer of G-d. If we
want to find Jesus in the Gospels, we should look for where the suffering is
occurring. There we see the compassion of G_d, a willingness to enter into and
be present with the suffering of others.
·
Where am I called to be compassionate?
·
What in my own life requires letting go of judgment,
creating a place for me to show compassion for my own life struggles?
·
And where is the suffering around me in the world where my
compassion could make a difference?
6
Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; *
remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness,
O Lord.
8 He
guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.
For many of us, our challenge is not
believing G_d can forgive us our sins. It is forgiving ourselves. We readily
recall our failings stretching back to our childhood. And we often labor under
the misapprehension that G_d does, too.
·
Where am I called to trust that G_d loves every part of me,
including the parts I don’t like, the parts I am ashamed of?
·
Where do I need to take seriously the words our baptismal
covenant - “I will with God’s help” - in seeking to let go of my own shame?
·
What might G_d have to teach me this Lenten season about
G-d’s goodness and loving kindness toward all of Creation, including myself, without
conditions?
9 All
the paths of the Lord are
love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Let us give thanks for
the paths of the Lord which the psalmist
tells us are marked by love and faithfulness. Let us give thanks for the Way of
Jesus we see revealed in Gospel accounts like today’s lesson. And let us give
thanks for the model Francis and Clare have provided us in following that Way
in our own lives.
May our time in the wilderness be meaningful and prove fruitful. And let us depart for the Wilderness with the words of our Franciscan prayer The Aborbeat on our lips:
May the power of your love, Lord Christ,
fiery and sweet as honey,
so absorb our hearts
as to withdraw them from all that is under
heaven.
Grant that we may be ready
to die for love of your love,
as you died for love of our love. Amen
A Reflection for the Lenten Retreat, TSSF San Damiano Chapter
Holy Names Priory, St. Leo, FL
Lent I(B), Sunday, February 18, 2024
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Harry Scott Coverston
Orlando, Florida
If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding. Most things worth considering do not come in sound bites.
Those who believe religion and politics aren't connected don't understand either. – Mahatma Gandhi
For what does G-d require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d? - Micah 6:8, Hebrew Scriptures
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. - Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages (1993)
© Harry Coverston, 2024
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No comments:
Post a Comment