Journey Through Lent

Following on from yesterday in our Lenten Quotes, Rowan Williams asks, “What if we view this desert time of Lent as not just a time to reflect or to lament or to confess or to fast, but a time where we learn to be free?”

This quote seems to be so counter intuitive to the popular view of Lent as an austere, restrictive and bleak season that needs to be endured. I find it interesting that Williams emphasises the action of “learning to be free.”

It must have been so for those born into slavery and trafficked across the world to finally find themselves emancipated. Yet what is the freedom that Christ offers? According to the Christian worldview, true freedom is not a matter of doing what you want without restraint, but cultivating the right wants and living in obedience to God's will. In other words, freedom results when our wants align with God's will.  A train is free only so long as it stays on its tracks; a train that jumps the tracks is "free" of the rails but no longer free in the most important sense of the word. It's a freed wreck that can't go anywhere. 

In John 8 we read “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

So is this the learning that Williams means that we draw life from the word of God. This life is Christ himself, he is the love of the Father. Being a disciple, a listener, is living and abiding in truth, knowing that the Jesus of our prayer comes from God and is with God. Jesus wants to lead us into truth so that we may be free. If we truly desire freedom, weneed to be ready to accept the truth. There is nothing threatening or accusatory here-it is about being known fully and loved deeply.

Gracious God,

you have made all of the peoples of the earth for your glory.

You invite us to serve you in freedom and in peace.

Give to the people of every nation a zeal for justice

and the strength for forbearance,

that we may use our liberty

in accordance with your gracious will.

We ask this in the name of the one

who welcomes all to be free indeed.

Inspire us to live and worship in your freedom. Amen

Journey Through Lent

What if we view this desert time of Lent as not just a time to reflect or to lament or to confess or to fast, but a time where we learn to be free. Megan Westra

You may recall that in Pilgrims Progress, that Pilgrim gets to the foot of the Cross and kneels in penitence and at that moment the load he is carrying, symbolising his burden of sin falls off.  The problem with so many Christians is that too often, when they experience repentance at the cross and go to move on, they pick up their burden and put it on their back once more.

The old prayer speaks of God "in whose service is perfect freedom." The paradox is not as opaque as it sounds. It means that to obey Love itself, which above all else wishes us well, leaves us the freedom to be the best and gladdest that we have it in us to become. The only freedom Love denies us is the freedom to destroy ourselves ultimately.

An old Peanuts cartoon has Lucy standing in the outfield of Charlie Brown’s baseball diamond. As a fly ball sails toward her, she remembers all the other times she’s dropped the ball. And she drops this one, too.

Lucy calls out to Charlie Brown, who’s standing on the pitcher’s mound: “I almost had it, but then my past got in my eyes!”

Paul could have easily dropped the ball of ministry because his past got in his eyes. But that didn’t happen because Paul understood that letting go of the past is critical if you want to hold on to God’s future.  “Forgetting what lies behind,” Paul writes, “and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

Journey Through Lent

God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Pope Francis

Hebrews 8:11 “And no one then will need to speak to his friend or neighbour or brother, saying, ‘You, too, should know the Lord,’ because everyone, great and small, will know me already. 12 And I will be merciful to them in their wrongdoings, and I will remember their sins no more.”

In a phrase it could be said that God Remembers What we Forget and God Forgets What we Remember! 

How different God’s pardon is from ours! So often we forgive as did the mother of the little girl who had been good a whole week, and asked mother for a favour. "I know," was the answer, "that you have been good all this week, but you know you were bad last week."

In a passionate burst of feeling, the little one exclaimed: "Oh, Mother, you are not one bit like God. When He forgives, He doesn’t keep throwing it up afterward."

There's a wonderful story about the cardinal of the Philippines, named, oddly enough, Cardinal Sin. When Cardinal Sin was a bishop, a young woman in his parish claimed that she had visions of Jesus. Bishop Sin was given the task of determining if these visions were authentic. He called her in for an interview, after which he made this request: "Daughter, the next time you see Jesus, would you ask Him what sin your bishop committed as a young priest and then come and tell me His answer." She agreed. The bishop, aware that nobody knew his sin except himself, his confessor, and Jesus, felt this would be a valid test.

Months later the young woman returned, reporting she had seen Jesus again. The bishop said, "Good. Did you ask Him about my sin?"

She said, "Yes,"

"What did He say?"

"He said, 'I've forgotten.'"

Dear God,

Thank you, Lord, that when we repent and ask for forgiveness, that you remember our sins no more. Help us to follow in Jesus’s example. Remind us that prayer is one of our greatest weapons and through continual prayer, praying for our enemies, you will begin to soften our hearts and give us the strength to forgive them.

Father, bless those who have wronged us. Show us where we are still holding back forgiveness, so that we can begin the obedient steps of forgiving. And when we still remember, as it’s hard to forget, open our eyes to love that person, replacing the hurt with love. We thank you for forgiving us this day and every day and commit to striving to do the same. In Jesus name. Amen

Journey Through Lent

Today we remain once more in the Wilderness with Jesus.

Jesus, like Moses before him, retreats into the wilderness where he fasts for forty days. Each temptation involves a seizure of power: power over the elements of creation by turning stones into bread, political and military power by gaining power over the kingdoms of the world, and the power to force God's protection in an inappropriate manner. That Jesus was tested throughout his ministry was widely held in early Christianity. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us, "For do we not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathise with out weakness, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin."

We are back with the word of God as a means to overcoming temptation. One commentator puts it this way, “The word of God is living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Much of what we say and what we hear in the day does not bear a second thought. It is empty twaddle. The Scriptures are different. We have given more study and care to understanding them than to any other human words. God’s word is meaty and powerful, pushing us to look at ourselves.”

A well-known author once told this story of an account he had with sea gulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. “I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

How sad that even though the bird had plenty of time to fly away, because it delayed it paid the price. Now think of this story in terms of the Christian life. When we become overly enthralled with the things of this world, they can bring us down and cause our spiritual death. The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. If we cannot give up the things of this world and focus on Christ, we cannot be used by Him. Our eyes must be upward on Christ rather than downward on this world.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to turn stones into bread.

Facing temptation,

we too often turn bread into stones.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to use power for its own sake.

Facing temptation,

we too often take power

that belongs to someone else.

Facing temptation,

Jesus refused to test the promises of God.

Facing temptation,

we too often want God to do

what we should do ourselves.

Lord, strengthen me this day according to your will. Amen

Journey Through Lent

Let’s take a second look at the Temptations of Jesus. In the wilderness Jesus did not engage with the devil’s temptations. He simply quoted the Word of God in scripture. God’s Word has power, even over the demons.

Jesus’ experience teaches us that there is nothing wrong with being tempted. It’s how we react to the temptation that matters. A short prayer or a quote from God’s Word will help us let it go. For example: ‘Lead me not into temptation’ or ‘I must forgive, not once but seventy times.’

In many ways tremptations are the way that we come to know ourselves. Know yourself!’ is an ancient piece of Greek wisdom. Do I know myself and my temptations? Am I a perfectionist, or lazy? Do I desire to get noticed and praised? Am I hoarding the gifts and talents God has given me instead of putting them at the service of others? Do I focus on the best in people, or get myself angry over their flaws? Do I love only those who love me? Have I a closed mind so that I miss out on the surprises and graces of each new situation? Do I judge others rather than try—as Ignatius suggests-- to put a good interpretation on what they say or do? And so on. Where am I ignoring the grace God is offering me?

The fact is that Jesus knows me better than I know myself: he loves me as I am. But he also works, often through others, to help me become aware of the ways I can spoil things. He wants to make me more compassionate and easier to get along with.

Lord, you told of these temptations to your disciples - how else would they have known? I ask can I put words on my own temptations, the weaknesses or wickedness that draw me in particular? Can I see my temptations as you did, against the backdrop of the vocation to which you call me? Lord, you overcame Satan's temptations. You understand my struggle. So I ask for the strength you had when facing Satan's attacks in the wilderness. Don't let me be dragged away by my own desires. Let my heart obey your Word. Amen

Journey Through Lent

The number 40 specifically in the Bible has deep meaning, even to this day, 40 days are those that you recommend to the woman to rest after giving birth. 40 are the weeks of gestation. “Forty” is the only word form of a number where the letters all appear in alphabetical order.

Many Theologians think that the number 40 represents "change", it is the time of preparation of a person or people to give a fundamental change, something will happen after these 40 days.

Perhaps the most well known of 40 days period in the New Testament is surely the wilderness period of Christ’s temptations.

Jesus was tempted by the devil to put three values above the love of God : pleasure (bread standing for food, money, other such comforts), power (all the kingdoms of the world), and security (presuming on God to work miracles for him). During these 40 days of Lent we do well to ask what are my temptations, the indulgences that pull me from God? Most of us fall into one or two traps repeatedly.

In our desire to serve God and to live as Jesus did, there will be temptations, as there were for him. He was tempted to abandon his chosen mission, to use all his power for himself, to trust in himself alone. Our temptations may be different, but the reality is the same. We will find ways in which attractions other than the way of Jesus will demand our focus and activity. We know Jesus as one who knows the reality of temptation. The side of ourselves which wants to follow.

Paul in his letter to the Romans gives a formulae for overcoming evil; he writes “Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:21

Lord, open my eyes to my weaknesses, to the things in me that exasperate others; and if others criticise me, may I learn from them instead of resisting angrily. Amen

Journey Through Lent

The three great and well-known Hebrew kings, Saul, David and Solomon, each ruled for 40 years. That’s not a coincidence. 40 years is considered a generation in the Bible (this means that a new group of Israelites that rises up, sustains itself, then dies off).

For these three kings, this time period of 40 years also contains a warning: 20 years of their rule was marked by prosperity and 20 years by ruin. It characterises the Prophet Samuel’s trepidations over instituting kings in the first place: eventually, they’ll take from the people more than they give.

Such periods of rule seem to have a modern parallel as so often the political elite of many nations seem to have this rise and fall in their periods of governance. Israelmore Ayivor a leadership  consultant claims that, “The rise or fall, success or failure of your dreams is largely dependent on the association you build yourself around.” 

Whilst David rose to the heights of kingship and did often stumble he was able to say, in Psalm 37:23-24 “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

One New Year’s Day, in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of petrol. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of fuel. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of petrol.

Even though Christians have access to God’s omnipotence, if we do not avail ourselves to it we will run out of power.

Lord, I kneel before You in humble submission and pray that in Your mercy and kindness You would help me to simply let go of all the fears and worries, problems and doubts, guilt and disappointments that seem to be filling my heart and mind so often, during the course of a day.

Fill me with Your love and peace I pray.  Lord, You know what is in my heart. Help me Lord, to take every thought captive, to hand it over to You as it rears up in my mind, and help me to replace it with thoughts and words of Scripture that tell of Your great might and wonderful power.

Lord, You have told us to think about whatever is lovely and pure and holy and good, and I pray that You would help me to turn the eyes of my heart upon Jesus and look to Him day by day. In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen.