Through Stained Glass: Lent Day 3

Ash Wednesday

February 14, 2024

"Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now. Lent is a summons to live anew." Sister Joan Chittister

Reflection Title: Becoming Empty

Scripture: Joel 2.1, 2, 12-17 & Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21

    Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. The forty days of Lent are often associated with penance – an act of self-abasement. While a worthy practice, Lent offers much more to our faith journey if we allow it. The Joel reading takes us back to a hard time in the life of God's people.

    Locusts have ravaged the land. The crops are failing. The very life of the population is in question. The prophet Joel, convinced that the people had brought the disaster upon themselves by virtue of their unfaithfulness, summons the House of Israel to repent its ways. But he does not call them to attend penance services in the synagogue. He does not require them to make animal sacrifices in the temple. He does not talk about public displays of remorse, the time-honored tearing of garments to demonstrate grief. No, Joel says, "Rend your hearts and not your clothing."

    Sister Joan Chittister writes, "Lent is a call to weep for what we could have been and are not. Lent is the grace to grieve for what we should have done and did not. Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not. Lent is not about penance. Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing whatever is blocking the fullness of life in us right now."

    Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality. We need not wait until our deaths to know the fullness and abundance of God. We have life now – and God is with us in this life. Lent is the time to let life in again, to rebuild the worlds we've allowed to go sterile, to "fast and weep and mourn" for the goods we've foregone. Lent is a season for becoming – to return to our belovedness by emptying ourselves of whatever stands in the way of it and by filling our life with the goodness of God.

The Question(s) for the Week

• Who is God calling you to become? What is preventing you from saying 'yes' to God?
• How might Lent be a season for us to consider who we need to become in a world not as it is but as God longs for it to be?
• Lent is not about feeling bad about being human. Instead, it reminds us of and directs our attention to God's mercy and goodness. Write about how you experienced God's goodness, compassion, and love. Could you share it with a friend?

The Practices for the Week

• Prayer helps us empty ourselves so we may embrace the Christ dwelling within us. Center prayer includes gently letting go of any thoughts that come during that time, not pushing them away but letting them go to return to God's presence. On Sundays at 3:00 p.m. in Lent, Adam will offer centering prayer at the church.
• In the space below, take ashes and draw a circle. Spend time reflecting on your life. How does the concept of impermanence make you feel?
• Take a drive through a cemetery. When you find a quiet spot, take in the names on the headstones. Recall these words from Genesis 3.19, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." What would those who have gone before you in death want you to know about life? Consider the gift God has given you – YOU. Consider this reality: we all have one life with limited time. What will you do with this time?
• The poet Rilke once wrote, "You are not dead yet. It is not too late to open your depths by plunging into them and drink the life that reveals itself quietly there." Write these words on a piece of paper and put it somewhere you will encounter it daily. Lent is about living!

The Prayer for the Week

God, you are near.

Focus on breathing in and pray: I breathe in the breath of life.

Focus on breathing out and pray: I breathe out what separates me from God.

Have mercy on me, O God, and shape my becoming into your image.

Amen.