Rejoice!

Rejoice! Christ the Lord is risen! Again I say, rejoice!

May the God of resurrection be with you today and always. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen and amen.

Odds and Ends

Original 2012 Post

Every worthwhile Lenten practice requires sufficient time to reflect on the experience. So as Lent 2012 comes to a close, it is appropriate that some time be devoted to analysis. First, the obvious questions:

- Was the practice faithfully kept?

- Did it continue to provide benefits?

- Is it worth keeping the practice after Lent?

- Are modifications to the practice in order?

More specific questions may depend on the practice, but here are a few to consider:

- Can the practice be (caringly) recommended to others?

- Have and will others notice beneficial results?

- Are there tangible results that might be put to good use?

- Has the practice found favor with God?

Naturally, these questions may be difficult to answer, especially without hindsight's sharpening touch. And in time, some answers may change. If this seems possible, it might be worth leaving a physical reminder for later examination, an appointment with self, as it were, for a week later, a month, or next year.

To be open and frank about this blog, it has been a mixed blessing. There have been days where the post seemed obvious and the words flowed with ease. There have been other days that were quite difficult. The average time spent exceeded the budgeted amount almost every day. Most days, the extra time spent felt worth it. But there are tasks that necessarily must now take precedence.

There were many lessons along the way. From the sources found and researched, to new books and fresh authors, to Web skills attained. Most interesting, current research on the dynamics of social media has been clearly in evidence in this endeavor. In her TED talk of this week, Sherry Turkle tells of her recent work examining some consequences of being connected through technology:

http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html

In a nutshell, as a means of keeping us truly connected with friends and family, the smart phone fails in some critical ways. In a similar manner, as a vehicle for study and communication about Lent, this blog falls short. For example, blogs promise quick, easy access to the latest updates, but the posts here are more suitable for time spent in reflection and contemplation. As another example, blogs offer the opportunity for dialog, but not only has none occurred, a quick scan of a cross section of blog postings related to Lent shows a marked dearth of reasoned exchange. It may be that the distance and anonymity provided by the Web discourage the sharing of personal ideas and beliefs. Or the amount of time required to compose a clear, concise comment is more than people are willing to spend, leading either to no comment or to ones easily misinterpreted.

Finally, for those who wish to continue reading blog posts after Easter, a respected source of like-minded, daily writings can be found in the Sojourner, Jim Wallis' publication of "Faith in Action for Social Justice":

http://sojo.net/

2013 Addendum

I have found that few of the original 2012 posts required significant re-writing, perhaps not surprising given the original desire to pen reflections that did not depend critically on time or place.  I have also found that almost all of the citations made a year ago are still current, always a consideration for Web-base access.  For these reasons, I plan to leave this blog open and available to all, though it will only occasionally be moderated.

This year, I am grateful to all who have followed these posts, whether on-line or by hard copy provided locally.  It remains true that all feedback to date has been made face-to-face, rather than by electronic means.  This fact has been my greatest disappointment, betraying my hope to develop connections to like-minded people over great distances.

Still, the experience has been positive, in total, and I am hopeful for new avenues through which to serve God and my neighbor.

May God use your reflections on the practices of this Lent to bring growth and peace.

Good Friday, Anew

There have been ample opportunities for trying something new today - new worship formats, new friendships to forge, new stories to hear, new viewpoints to consider. The day has been so rich, in fact, that an additional posting is warranted. It stems intentionally from risks taken in response to recent personal insights, themselves a topic worthy of future writing. For now, it will suffice to describe today's events.

An ecumenical group of some two dozen townsfolk gather on a sunny day to stroll through town. They proceed moderately, with purpose, but without haste. Along the way, there are stops at a handful of prominent locations to take a brief moment in consideration of some of the ways humanity falls short of the Kingdom of God. In between, time en route to contemplate, share with others, and marvel in the bright sunshine. All normal enough, except perhaps for the curious notion of transporting a group so large along congested roads on foot.

Yet certainly not normal, not on this particular day, and certainly not with a companion at once so recognizable, yet so foreign to today's public square. For on this Good Friday, the ad hoc congregation remembers Jesus' own travel through His beloved city and the companion forced upon Him by the failings of friends, the demands of government and the mistakes of misplaced righteousness. Both then and now, it was not the people or the travel that brought notice, but rather the companion - a cross. For Jesus and the disciples, the cross was an abomination, an instrument of brutality, torture, subjugation and shame. Centuries later, true believers still found it difficult to accept, much less embrace. For today's participants, though, it was a potent symbol of death once real, now overcome.

This worship in the world, this meditation among the masses, was a challenge in many aspects. The usual quietude was replaced by cars and trucks, purposeful but in large part patient, maybe a bit curious and cautious. The comfort of a pew was replaced by a light workout and for those who desired, a chance to lead the procession and carry the cross. And traditional, contemplative Christian homiletics were punctuated by long silences and conversations with friends and small talk with strangers.

Still, thanksgiving is most appropriate. Foremost for a bright, early spring day, with rays hard at work melting the remaining snow. And for intrepid sojourners, together courageously highlighting their common heritage. And above all, for the Holy Spirit, that leads ministers to reach out to small numbers; that imbues familiar words with new meanings; that encourages those that can, to do so, and those that cannot, to assist; and that prompts the timid to reach beyond comfort.  For where the Holy Spirit is, these things are abundant.

May God grant you newness amidst familiarity and the ability to experience His grace afresh.

Good Friday

Good Friday - a day that could be so named only once it was long past. It must have seemed anything but good at the time. Surely it was surreal, quite illogical, so traumatic it's amazing any of the events could be recalled later. Now, as then, the thoughts and images are so raw and come so rapidly, they can only be captured in small part and without a unifying sense of order. Almost stream of consciousness, this post is forced to conform.

A question from one who is fasting - should Lent end on Good Friday? Arguably, it should, for the life we are attempting to emulate ended on Good Friday. But, alas, it does not. Whether one takes Sundays as celebrations, a break from obligation, or one practices from Ash Wednesday uninterrupted, the day after Good Friday must be a day of observance, for it is not yet Easter.

A recalled Holy Week worship calls for a remembrance of revelation. Indeed, Lent and Easter stories cannot be told without revelation. Whether it be an exhilarating rush of knowing, a release from pain, worry and doubt, or a gradual awakening to the mysteries of faith, each story is worth telling and even more worth hearing.

Traditions regarding Good Friday vary, but may include such things as covering crosses or at least draping black cloth on them, concerns tucked into a cross fashioned from brambles or wire, and special worship opportunities. A personal favorite of the last variety is commemoration of the last seven "words" of Jesus Christ, sentences or phrases uttered from the cross as recorded in the Gospels. Each may be considered in turn, with an accompanying reflection, music and poetry. Traditionally, it spans noon to mid-afternoon, in remembrance of the hours Christ hung on the cross and is the perfect opportunity for an ecumenical service, for if the denominations cannot agree on the death and resurrection of Jesus, what hope is there for reconciliation? In many communities, there is a wealth of oratorical talent that can be a Lenten offering to all, even if many are too busy to avail themselves of it.  Alas, even traditions must evolve and change, and this one is now but a treasured memory, replaced by a more active, public display recalling the events of that first Good Friday.

The seven words:

- "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing."

- "Today you will be with me in paradise."

- "Mother, there is your son."

- "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

- "I am thirsty."

- "It is finished."

- "Into thy hands I commend my spirit."

From past meditations, a few gathered thoughts:

*** Salvation is not an event. It is a relationship. *** (Attribution uncertain, but quite possibly Pastor Mandara - http://www.allsaintslutheran.ca/reflections/reflect_11_28.html)

The opening of this thought seems less remarkable than the conclusion. Which is not to say that any of it is uncontroversial, because for many, Christ's sacrifice defines salvation and applies to all humankind. Many others invoke a need for belief, which is not an event, but a state of relationship. Wiser people recognize this conundrum as one of the mysteries of faith. But succinctly identifying relationship as the alternative to event emphasizes the personal, dynamic, ongoing nature of whatever initially starts the believer on the journey. This is especially important during Lent, where an observance may be the process, but the goal is a saving connection, a relational salvation.

*** Jesus' response is to "open up the circle of agony and invite John in." *** (Rev. Gareth Evans)

As is so often true, Jesus' responds quite unlike typical humanity. Suffering on the cross, in pain and agony, it is astonishing that Jesus could be so aware of the needs of others. It may seem reasonable for Jesus to be thinking about his mother's long-term survival, but Jesus had brothers and possibly sisters, so why not admonish them? The answer is almost unbelievable - widening the family to include John makes it stronger. Jesus' family was under assault, His mother suffering the unthinkable, the death of her firstborn, and many of the others probably worried the authorities would be looking for them. Besides, they had been given no choice in the matter, indicted by birth, in pain through no fault of their own. John had been chosen and trained and had been thoroughly warned, as prepared as any for the numbing events of that week. So including John gives each family member additional support and resources through which to thrive. If tradition is correct, Jesus' insight allowed His mother to live out her life peacefully under John's protection.

*** Having overcome the sin of the world, death will be a small obstacle. *** (Stages on the Way, (c) 1998 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G51 3UU Scotland)

Indeed, measured in any number of ways, Christ clearly conquered death. His battle against each person's separation from God, though, is seemingly eternal - witness just the Lenten struggles treated in these posts, for example. But our faith ensures that even this has already been overcome.

*** I'm not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens. *** (Woody Allen)

Even on a day of remembered sorrow and tears, there should be room for humor.

A prayer for today:

Lord Jesus, remember us

when you come into your kingdom.

Remember us,

not for our impressive resume,

nor for the things

which we hope will appear in our obituaries.

Remember us,

not for the virtues we occasionally display

or for any credit

we think we have in our moral account.

Remember us,

as one of the criminal community

who hung at your side,

and if life will not let us be in paradise

with you today,

keep a place for us.

Amen.

May you find the place in God's heart that He keeps for you.

Today's Mandate

Lent is quiet and subdued, at least until Holy Week. But by Maundy Thursday, there is so much to review, it does not fit. First to the meaning of the word Maundy. Wikipedia lists several possibilities, the most fitting being from the Latin mandatum, the first word in the phrase mandatum novum, which translates "A new commandment", from the charge Jesus gives to His disciples at the Last Supper "to love one another, as I have loved you". More literally, a modern equivalent might be "A new mandate". For many worshippers, Maundy Thursday is linked to the somber service that recalls the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus.

Significant portions of the Gospels are devoted to the events of this day and the subsequent night, including the Last Supper, at which Jesus washed the disciples feet and transformed the elements of the Seder meal into what in Christianity is the sacrament of Communion, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas, the arrest of Jesus, the three denials of Peter, and the trial, sentencing and ridicule of Jesus. There is ever so much for the Lenten faithful to contemplate.

But this Maundy Thursday, one of many texts is brought to the spotlight. John 17 records Jesus' prayer to God, spoken in the presence of His disciples, just before leaving for the garden where He would be arrested. While written in the form of a prayer, it reads more like the words of a televangelist, where the message is really more to the people listening than to God.

And not just any translation of that text, but the Common English Version:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2017&version=CEV

This version, in particular, makes clear the meaning of John's somewhat poetic phrases. It also portrays a humbler Jesus, one who claims unity with God from before the beginning of the world, but who also remains subservient to God's will. Between the clarity of expression and the ever-obedient tone, this passage reminds all believers of the Christ-like attitude we are to adopt, through Lent to be certain, but also throughout all our lives. It is a beautiful example of the power of servanthood, that mix of faithful dedication and loving confidence, that emboldens Christ's followers, allowing them to be assured of the future, even when the present looks bleak.

On a day filled to overflowing with emotion, mixing beauty, sadness, accomplishment, despair, opportunity and grief, it is a blessing to receive God's grace, a word of encouragement and assurance, to shore up the faltering parts of our lives.

May you receive God's mandate for your life as a gift for your joy and salvation.

Relevance

The convergence of the Holy Week lectionary texts from Jeremiah and a friend's morning meditation call forth an unusual topic for Lent - influence, or perhaps more correctly, relevance. There is a sense among many Christians that the place of religion in society is changing for the worse, that in matters of importance, the views of the church are no longer a force for change.

It's not that the church is out of the news. From abuse by priests to book burnings to political movements to ministry bankruptcies, there is plenty of high profile talk about churches. And there is seemingly no end to discussion of such topics as gay marriage and abortion. And there can be no denying that Christianity-based aid organizations are among the most effective in efficiency, speed of response and global reach. So, on the one hand, it seems the world pays most attention to those aspects of religious practice that are on the fringe, while many central tenets are being effectively carried out.

What, then, is causing this feeling that Christianity is on the decline? Part of it certainly relates to the falling number of churches and reduced church attendance. Some of it can be traced to increasing diversity and creeping political correctness. Perhaps fanatical religious terrorism is giving faithfulness a bad name. Or maybe the rise of technology is pushing out older support structures in society. Blame has been laid on everything from separation of church and state movements to lower enrollment in seminaries to Western views on individual responsibility to post-modern relativism (whatever that really means).

Regardless of the source, it seems that fascination with the state of religious institutions misses several critical points. First, though Christians view the church as Jesus' hands and feet, still at work within the world, the structure of the institution was of no concern to Jesus. He worked both within and outside the synagogues of His day and almost nothing of His teachings addresses individual churches. Second, 'the church', discussed as if it was a single, monolithic body, is in reality a divergent group of organizations that often are at odds with each other. Even within single denominations, it can be a struggle to hold the faithful together under one creed. Third, formal participation in a church is an incomplete measure of faith, at best. Especially in light of ongoing revelations and inept management of abuse allegations, there are many who refuse to practice in standard ways. There are many additional factors, but perhaps the strongest is that God has never been limited to acting through the church. He can and does minister to His people through individuals, even through the unchurched.

So what are good Christians to do? Foremost, they must remember that Jesus did not come to create an earthly institution. He came to rescue individual souls, now as then, and everything He was and is starts and stops there. In light of this, Christians should be exhorted to apply their efforts individually, to their own piety and to the needs of specific neighbors. Under this model, the highest calling for the organized church is to nurture believers in their spiritual growth and to provide opportunities for the building of relationships. At their core, these are the goals of traditional Lenten practices - new practices should be similarly motivated. Once grounded in a vibrant faith and in relation to others, especially those oppressed or in need, Christians will find they are relevant in all the ways God desires.

May God strengthen you through your Lenten observances, that you might be a shining example of faithfulness to Him.

Fleeting Fervor

After the early events in that Passover week, after the triumphal Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem and after overturning the tables of the moneychangers, life continued on. In spite of the the damage He had inflicted on the commercial interests of the Temple, Jesus returned daily to teach the people and to goad the Pharisees and Temple rulers. Yet the authorities did not act until later in the week.

Does this make sense? Picture this: a trouble maker has been of concern and under observation for some time, when he arrives in the capital city with a huge fanfare, refusing to be quiet. The first thing he does is to create a public disturbance, disrupting the marketplace and bringing commercial activity to a halt. Perhaps he escapes capture at first, but he then returns to the scene of the crime day after day, continuing to upset the authorities each time. Somehow, in spite of being a thorn in their side, he avoids capture for almost a week. Does this make sense?

Comparing the Gospel accounts of the Holy Week, John is largely silent about Jesus' activities over that week, but Matthew, Mark and Luke tell of many teachings by Jesus in the Temple. Of these, Mark lists a careful chronology of daily activities, from which we gather that Jesus and the disciples spent the nights in Bethany, a neighboring town, and spent the days in the Temple, where there was ample opportunity to interact with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Mark lists what today would be seen as a campaign to discredit Jesus, first questioning His credentials, then repeatedly applying political litmus tests and finally resorting to trick questions, all to trap Jesus in an embarrassing answer. Together, these incidents amount to character assassination, but they were to no avail, for He outwitted his questioners in every opportunity, much to the crowd's delight.

So what changed, that the authorities were finally able to gain the advantage? Well, many things, to be sure. First, there is Judas and the perfume incident - betrayal by one in the inner circle is devastating - followed by Peter's denial, another inner circle failure. It's possible, too, that the opposition to Jesus took some time to become united, either in intent or in plan. Or maybe like politics today, it just takes time for the machine to be put in motion. It's difficult to know which of these is the most important.

There is one more factor. The Gospels aren't clear why (Mark blames the chief priests who hadn't been able to turn opinion earlier), but the public support that had protected Jesus for the rest of that week disappeared just when He needed it most. Perhaps the smear campaign finally took hold. Or maybe the daytime Temple crowd was away from the city when Pilate paraded Jesus out. Maybe people were offended when Jesus said the Temple would be leveled or they just got tired of the circus that was Passover in Jerusalem. Quite possibly, some thought Jesus deserved to be arrested. Whatever the reason, when things started to turn, everyone backed out and Jesus was left on His own.

This, then, is one reason that Lent is forty days. Christians clearly need stamina in their practices, for they did not have it on that Passover. The powers of evil acted strongly that night, arguably stronger than human resistance could have surmounted. But knowing the result of that particular corporate timidity has spurred believers ever since to keep their guard up. Injustice must be resisted and the more formidable the oppressor, the more important it is that people of conscience risk standing for what's right.

May God give you the strength to go against prevailing thought as He directs.

Turning Tables

The Gospels don't agree on when Jesus became angry in the Jerusalem temple. John puts the event early in Jesus' ministry, Matthew and (perhaps) Luke place it on Palm Sunday and Mark has it on the next day. One thing they do agree on, Jesus was physically violent, overturning tables where worshipers were transacting business with local merchants. In such a public setting, where so many viewpoints could produce diverging explanations, it is worth asking: what was Jesus' purpose here?

The straightforward answer is that Jesus was insisting the merchants move outside the temple area. Vendors hawking their wares is often a noisy and manipulative affair. And with Passover so near, the numbers of pilgrims, moneychangers and sellers would all have been much larger than normal. So it is certainly possible that Jesus could not hear himself think, much less worship is such a chaotic environment. The simple solution would be to move the whole scene off of the Temple grounds.

Of course, no one then or now believes that Jesus just wanted a little less noise. Who else might He have targeted? In hindsight, there is much to be said for Jesus sending a challenge to the Pharisees and priests of Israel. These folks established the rules for the Temple and gave permission for merchants to set up their booths. Naturally, this was a business enterprise and the Temple made lots of money on these activities at Passover. Disruptions in the flow of commerce would instantly be the top priority item of the Temple managers.

Or perhaps Jesus was making a scene to draw the attention of the Roman occupiers. They made money on commerce in the district and so long as there was peace, whatever it took to keep that going was fine with them. Creating a disturbance was a challenge to the Roman ability to keep things orderly, in addition to making it harder to collect taxes.

Under either of these two scenarios, Jesus provokes the established order in a way that must be addressed immediately. He sets up a deciding confrontation that forces the powerful into a corner. They have no choice but to deal with Him, the Romans in their heavy-handed way or the Temple rulers in a way that resolves the conflict permanently.

Given the events that followed that week, not to mention the decades of political and religious oppression that would follow Jesus' death, this Gospel viewpoint is natural and a necessary part of the narrative. But that day must have been chaotic and confusing and it's hard to believe that Jesus was acting entirely in the moment. So it is within reason to wonder if this event can speak to modern Christianity. Simple translation of rich and poor, of disenfranchised and elite, of spiritual and commercial, changing then to now would caution against letting commercial interests into the sanctuary. But is this all that can be said?

Is Jesus against the use of money by the church? That is hard to believe. Any advanced society must have the ability to exchange services for goods and to maintain structures that adjust for varying rhythms of production. Dating back to the twelve tribes of Israel, a priestly class existed that relied on farmers and shepherds for support. Jesus grew up understanding the necessity of these relationships. His actions cannot be interpreted as a rebellion against the infrastructure of society.

What instruction, then, are we to take from this central Holy Week event? Like so much else, this event has a personal dimension. Perhaps Jesus was trying to bring the focus of Passover back to the original meaning. In Passover, God was present with His chosen people in Egypt. For any family that was willing to risk identity as a follower of Yahweh, the Hebrew God, God prevented death from entering that house. It was as personal as a divine bodyguard stationed at each door and window. And God went with them out of Egypt, making His proximity known on a regular basis. But almost from the night of Passover on, the Hebrew people drifted further and further from that personal God known by Abraham, the God that had saved them on that fateful night.

Jesus was God returned to an intimate presence, visible and within reach. And having come into their midst, right into the Jerusalem Temple, they still could not understand. Faced with a God that dared them to return to an individual relationship, a friendship that would cherish every opportunity to get to know and serve Him better, they refused, preferring their rituals and self-justifications to the boldness of a life lived for others. Jesus was trying to separate people from their crutches, to take away material dependencies, so that they might know better the way, the truth and the life.

Not a whole lot has changed in 2,000 years. Jesus is still calling for us to repent from our man-made idols and to adopt His life-changing way of relating to God and to others. He will continue to reach out for us, to turn over the tables we depend on, for He is faithful. It remains very difficult for us to accept His love, in spite of our best Lenten efforts. Only through His Easter sacrifice is there any hope.

May God upset the routines that stand in the way of your true service to Him.

Palm Sunday

What is to be made of Palm Sunday? The story is clear. Jesus borrows a young pack animal on the first day of the week, is the first person to ride it, and enters the stronghold of the religious elite of the day, to the cheers of commoners along the way. This starts a tug-of-war in the holiest of cities that plays out by the end of the week in an ugly showdown, one that still reverberates today.

But the start to that week is puzzling. Jesus is headed to the holy city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Passover, remembering the freeing of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. He is traveling from Jericho, a city in the Jordan river valley, several thousand feet lower in altitude. To reach Jerusalem, He has to pass over the Mount of Olives, from which He can see the entire city spread before Him. In making this journey, He is far from alone. The population of Jerusalem will swell so much that the boundaries of the city must be officially enlarged during Passover so people can safely celebrate "in the holy city". It is a crowded, chaotic, festive scene. As people pass each other, they recite Psalm 118:25-26, the greeting to pilgrims entering Jerusalem's temple to worship, "... Hosanna (Save us) ... Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." As John tells us, only in hindsight did anything seem remarkable to the disciples.

But why was Jesus, who had walked all over Palestine and who was still a man in His prime, why did He insist on riding? He certainly must have known the words of the prophet Zechariah, "your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech. 9:9)" Did He intend to be fulfilling this prophecy? Were arrangements for the animal made ahead of time? Or did His prophetic vision include knowing the location and time the young donkey would be available? We can't know for sure, but all the Gospels include this event, so it was critical, at least to the early church.

Beyond the act, itself, there are many possible interpretations of the significance of Palm Sunday. Some speak to the dominance of Jerusalem in the conventional wisdom of the day, how the one central temple had become the focus of so much religious belief and practice. Others speak to the enmity between the Pharisees and Sadducees and Jesus. Still others mention the primacy of the rabbinic law, grown so restrictive as to stifle religious devotion.

One particular view encountered today takes portions of these themes to argue against certain elements in Western culture. Jesus had spent much of His ministry reasoning and arguing with the religious establishment, never denying their goal of conforming to righteous standards (indeed, He would claim they did not go far enough), but rather pointing out their hypocrisy in the standards they chose to maintain and the way they went about achieving them. In ways large and small, they had taken their eyes off the prize. In this view, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and His activities in the subsequent days were a slap in the face of the religious leaders, forcing their hand and showing them to be deceivers of the people and of themselves. The people of that time, in many ways, played into such a narrative, longing to be rescued from the Roman occupation and from their own countrymen who had compromised with the occupiers. Jesus would suffer and die, an innocent casualty of the wickedness of human organizations that oppress their people in the name of peace, while bleeding them of money and robbing them of their spiritual freedom. This is an intoxicating view for those who see the same elements still at work today and who would rail against political and religious regimes that show similarities.

There is, however, an alternative interpretation. More central to Christ's ministry than His arguments with the authorities, was His embrace of the disenfranchised. Women were second class citizens and were protected only through the men in their families, leaving widows especially vulnerable. Yet Jesus was inclusive of women and sympathetic to their needs. The sick and the disturbed were cast out, partly to protect the population from disease, but more to keep them out of sight and out of mind. Jesus sought them out and healed their diseases and comforted their minds. The poor were thought to deserve their poverty for sins they or their ancestors had committed. Jesus saw the damage that society was doing to the poor and encouraged them to keep faith. And when circumstances did not provide a way to separate the 'insiders' from the 'outsiders', rules and laws were set up to artificially do so. Jesus saw right through such injustices. So Jesus did not wage war against the power structures of His day, though they would strike at Him with vengeance. If that had been His goal, He would not have entered Jerusalem on an animal barely able to bear the load. He would have raised an army of angels and laid waste to the sinners in His way.

No, Jesus was after a larger goal - He wanted to fight personal hypocrisy. The people of Israel had sold out to their religious leaders. They glorified their politicians and believed the rules handed down by the elite, even when those rules ran counter to their teachings and beliefs. He knew that the way to reform corrupt organizations is to change the hearts of the people that give them power. Without such support, no organization can survive. But with God's laws written on their hearts and in their minds, no people can fail. For this reason, Christ's entry into Jerusalem stands as an indictment of our own hypocrisy, in whatever form it takes. When we support something we do not believe in or we fail to work for changing things to be more in alignment with God's will, we join the crowd that today sings "Hosanna!" and tomorrow cries "Crucify Him!" Jesus is still fighting for us and asks that we join Him in that fight, not only during Lent, but throughout our lives.

May God grant the insight to see your hypocrisy and the courage to change it.

The Tunnel's End

After almost 40 days of sacrificing, many people begin to look forward to the day when Lent is over. In light of the constant vigilance, the frequent reminders, the daily time commitment, it is understandable that Christians become weary of their chosen practice. Forty days is a long time to be on guard against accidental relapses, unguarded moments, and frequent temptations. What is missing is a view of the progress made in a God-pleasing direction. From deep in the trenches, the shifting battle lines are unseen, as is the ultimate goal. Only with the grand view, the heavenly view, is progress obvious.

At times, the approach of those who repeat the same Lenten practices, year after year, seems worth copying. Those Christians are practicing tradition and are at home with the practices they have chosen to pursue. Each year, they participate in a way that satisfies their spiritual needs, while resting assured their commitment can be met through Lent. For these people, the Easter day enjoyment of the Lent-forbidden activity makes it all the more endurable. The breaking of the fast (or its equivalent) is a release from their burden and a confirmation of their efforts at the same time.

For those choosing a new exercise of the will during Lent, Holy Week signals upcoming choices. Should the observance be continued past Easter? Was the chosen discipline a useful one from Christ's perspective? Can the benefits achieved during Lent be continued through the course of the year? Will the believer find and retain a supportive environment for his/her efforts? These questions bear heavily on the decision to maintain or end the habits newly formed.

These are important questions from the human viewpoint. But from the divine viewpoint, these questions are non-issues, mere distractions. Our heavenly Father encourages us to attempt and accomplish any of the things He knows will be best for us. There is no single optimum - defining specific activities and when to do them is much less important than the striving itself. Perhaps He is like the sideline parent, urging her child onward and upward. The sport does not matter, the position played is immaterial, she just wants to see her child happy and fulfilled, regardless of success or failure. Like any good parent, God is there when we need Him and He rejoices in our wins and consoles us in our defeats. To Him, it is about being present in the present. It is about supportive encouragement, complete with forgiveness and mercy. It is taking pleasure in the joy of a child.

If we would but recognize these truths, we find the only bad choice come Easter is to trust in ourselves. We are fallible, highly prone to error and misjudgment. But His love will be there regardless. His guidance is trustworthy and dependable. He will never give up on leading us to salvation. There is growth in His scolding, there is freedom in his correction. We do ourselves a disservice by lingering in indecision. Far better that we concentrate on being in His presence and on hearing His voice. The rest will fall into place. Whether it be our chosen practice or another, whether it be during Lent or after, His choice is what matters and the best we can do is be prepared to listen when He speaks. By placing our trust in His grace, we will not be led astray and we cannot be defeated.

May God shine His light on your post-Lent practices.

Contrasts

Dedicated to Tuevo, now absent for some time, yet with us still.

Lent is designed to contrast with Easter. Lent is 40 days, a study in consistency. Easter is a single day, the flash of euphoria on the understanding of the empty tomb. Lent is somber, everything serious and considered. Easter is jubilant, noisy and loud. Lent looks inside, concentrating on innermost sanctity. Easter proclaims to the world, unbelievable good news that just has to be shared. Lent is traditional, each facet imbued with meaning. Easter is spontaneous, in the moment and unguarded. Lent is winter, hunkered down and conserving energy. Easter is spring, bursting forth in blossom and flower.

So too, the external world during Lent, the season of preparation, is full of contrasts. Short days and long nights give way, noticeably, to longer days and shorter nights. The morning commute goes from peering into dark as far as headlights reach to shielding against the rising sun's first rays. Yardwork takes on new meaning, turning from snow shovels and bundles of fallen branches to roto-tilling and the appearance of first bulbs. Basketball and hockey seasons complete and spring training starts, followed by soccer and lacrosse. Skis are used for the last time and put away and bicycle tires have to be filled and brakes checked. The snow blower is moved to the shed and from the shed comes the lawn mower. Recipes for hearty soups and robust stews are filed away, replaced by salads and grilled hamburgers.

For many, external changes mirror internal moods. The dreariness of grey forests and shortened sunlight hours depresses spirits and accentuates the plodding workday rhythm. Cherry blossoms, tulips and daffodils perk up the senses and give a boost to days that seem both short and long at the same time. Then bright skies and light green leaves breed short sleeves and skirts, and people nearly bubble with pleasure, all smiles and laughter.

In the midst of all this, this flow beginning after the deep ebb, woven into this earth tones to pastels quilt, is the back and forth of each day's existence. This, too, is contrasts. Asleep, awake. Rushing, still. Waiting, busy. Bright, dark. Sad, happy. Frivolous, serious. Focused, scatter-brained. Emotional, stoic. Alone, together. Outgoing, self-absorbed. Careful, careless. Needy, generous. Pious, broken.

And it is not always clear which is what. Is it half-empty? Or half-full? Is it a dark cloud? Or a silver lining? Is it crisis? Or opportunity? Is it delusion? Or belief? Is it a time of trial? Or a blessing in disguise? Is it a natural consequence? Or is it God's will? Is it a valiant struggle ended? Or a blessed release from tribulation?

Into this tempest of ups and downs, highs and lows, certainties and questions, comes news not unexpected, but still news. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh back and He has called yet another of His faithful, steadfast in service and dedication, calm of spirit and yet completely spirited, teasingly humorous, faithful through adversity, a quiet pillar of joy. God's Kingdom on Earth is a bit smaller, the heavenly host a mite stronger, the hopeful faithful both saddened and joyous. The contrasts are both sharper and muddled. Glory be to the Lord, most high.

May God bless His flock, comfort them in grief and strengthen them to meet the morrow.

Positive Thinking

The church intentionally associates Lent with somber subjects and sympathetic suffering. These are strange motivators for the sorts of sacrifices that people take on for the season. Imagine a depressive personal trainer or a stern nutritionist - it's not the sort of encouragement that leads to success. Yet that is what people expect from the church. Would that the religious establishment could be more cheerleaders for the same changes, the same disciplines. The power of positive thinking just might do wonders.

Not that the suffering of Christ should be a matter of merriment. When that is the focus, a dark mood is certainly appropriate. And that is most appropriate for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. By extension, the church has impressed similar emotions on all of Lent, perhaps because the secular world views inward disciplines such as fasting, meditation and prayer as being suitable only for the most reverent of souls. Perhaps we as Christians reinforce this view, with long, sad faces, bowed heads and furrowed brows as we practice our piety. Or perhaps not - the world will often see what it wants to see. Either way, the stereotype is there, even accepted by dutiful churchgoers.

It need not be that way. For there is a distinction between the torture that Jesus was subjected to at His trial and in His crucifixion and the sacrifices He willingly made in getting there. And any careful read of the Gospels makes clear that Jesus was not a depressive sort of person. People flocked to Him, showered Him with adoration and praise, hung on His every utterance. Jesus really was a superstar for His day and age. He dined with the rich and powerful. Crowds followed Him from town to town, even chased Him around the Sea of Galilee. So many came to hear Him speak, He was forced to use hills for a stadium. And His appearance on Palm Sunday brought all of Jerusalem to a standstill.

So, how does this make any sense? How can a successful rabbi be viewed as a spiritual hero? Since when does the God of all Creation reveal Himself as a party animal? And if this is who Christ was as a human, why do we insist on Lent being so down?

Good questions. The key, it seems, is that Christ did not find joy in escaping from this life, but in living it to the fullest. He understood, in a way very few since have understood, that there is a flip side to sacrifice, a wonderfully gracious flip side. The glory in Christ's way is the freedom that it bestows. Giving up possessions is not a burden, but rather a blessing, because possessions possess. It is so true that those things we cling to in the name of security are the very things that rob us of freedom. To have reliable shelter restricts our location. To have a stable source of food, we work regularly. Given wealth, we are forced to protect our interests. To avoid hunger, we put on too much weight. It is inevitable - the more protection we amass, the stronger and thicker are the fortifications around us. And ultimately, we die, having given up our only chance to live.

Christ came to release us from all this. That is the Gospel, the good news. He lived in a way that conquers fear, making our fortress useless and simply in the way. There is no other choice but to tear it down. And each brick that falls is a relief, a cause for celebration. Every bad habit broken is a weight lifted, so we can breathe deeper of the fresh air. And each exercise of discipline is a gorgeous sunrise calling forth a beautiful day. Lent must be a season of celebration, or we have missed the point. The observances need not be any different, but by the power of Christ-like positive thinking they can be transformed from the dismal torture many regard them to be, to the heavenly joy that is God's will for us.

May you find reasons to rejoice in your Lenten practices.

Seeking Guidance

What might a congregation with a robust discipline of guidance look like? There are recent books that give a glimpse of this kind of church, though they do not use this terminology. In her small group study, Unbinding Your Heart: 40 Days of Prayer & Faith Sharing, Martha Grace Reese explains techniques that encourage a church to become more open, more welcoming, more faithful, and more evangelistic. Her examples include a firm reliance on prayer during all church meetings, a careful attention to the newcomer experience, and an openness to the reading of the holy spirit. The benefits are appealing to any congregation - increasing membership, spiritual vitality and strong fellowship. Even if evangelism is not the focus, corporate attention to prayer, friendliness, core strengths and outward service are highly likely to encourage community unity and commonness of purpose.

Lent is far too short a time to bring deep trust in the Holy Spirit to the typical mainstream congregation. But the same Lenten practices that encourage individual alignment with God's will, can move entire populations to a stronger, healthier relationship with the Holy Spirit. Such work is not easy. It requires dedication on the part of many and a commitment to overcoming the most difficult human emotions, including pride, greed and envy. Most of all, it demands an almost divine patience, a willingness to work through all the many issues that separate members. But in time, as people recognize their needs are being met and their value to the group is consistently reinforced, they let go of their fears and their prejudices, boosting group unity as followers of the Holy Spirit.

The early church, as described in the book of Acts, experienced this type of guidance on a regular basis. Even though its members, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, slave and free, were united primarily on the basis of their belief in Jesus Christ and the persecution they experienced because of their beliefs, these house churches thrived without priests or ministers or rabbis. Ordination, the official recognition of a calling to ministry, did not develop until many hundreds of years later. Today's house church movement can be traced to the practices of the early church, among them a strong dedication to the discipline of Guidance. This is detailed convincingly by Frank Viola and George Barna in Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. While Guidance practice differed, then as now, from congregation to congregation, certain common principles would seem to apply consistently. The importance of the individual is enforced, even as unanimity in resolve is stressed. This often requires the group to remedy adverse consequences on any member as a result of its decisions. An inclusive approach to membership must be developed and people must be affirmed in spite of their shortcomings. Members must trust the group to act in their best interests and the group must earn that trust in its actions and outcomes for every member. Christians from all walks of life aspire to such a Spirit-filled congregation.

But Guidance cannot be mandated. There is no 12-step program to move a church at odds with itself to one that is unified in worship and vision. Perhaps the best way to progress toward this goal, then, is to practice reliance on the Holy Spirit as much as possible. With a basis in the individual disciplines of prayer, meditation, study and even fasting, persons can begin to involve their most trusted spiritual companions in decision-making. Trusting an ever-larger group with Spirit-inspired discernment of increasingly communal issues, a core of Guidance practitioners can lead by example to a joyous, faith-full congregation.

May the Holy Spirit become your guide and inspiration in all decisions.

Consistency

Many are quite able to ask for help with a personal struggle, only some have a group they would trust with something important. Many others have trouble admitting need, though most can request assistance when the need is great. Many have heard an eloquent speaker and have been swayed by a convincing argument to an idea they would not otherwise have considered. Some can relate an instance when they have been taken in, and in some way conned, by some slippery salesman. Few, it seems, can tell of an entire group reaching consensus on a contentious issue without the aid of a charismatic leader. Why is it that group decisions are so hard to come by?

Stubbornness and its brother, pride, certainly deserve part of the blame. C. S. Lewis called this "The Great Sin" and wrote an entire chapter about it in his book, Mere Christianity. He rightly points out that no other vice is more easily recognized in another and more denied in ourselves. There are certainly other pressures that make group decisions difficult, lack of patience, hero worship, and indecisiveness among them, but devout, dedicated Christians are on guard against them and should be able to minimize their presence. And religious belief should confer an advantage, as it is driven by an innate capacity to empathize and a need to form strong relationship bonds. Still, faithful reliance on supportive group discernment is very rare.

Perhaps this is because we are not in it for the long term. The fast advance of technology and the rapid pace that one fad is replaced by another raises the expectation that all facets of life will change quickly. There is no longer room for habits that are nurtured over decades, that are passed from one generation to the next largely unaltered. Life is changing with such breakneck speed that very little is allowed to be constant. From location to vocation to pastime to spouse, even core relationships are no longer reliable, changing often for some people. In such a fluid environment, there is a strong need for a stable anchor, an unshakable foundation, a connection to bedrock that can serve as a reference point from which all else is measured.

No doubt, the church is frequently expected to be this source of stability. But that is unfortunate. For even while the core beliefs of the church are fixed, their expression must change to retain relevance, but those seeking tradition often do not allow this. Classic hymns may need to be replaced by praise songs, organs by guitars and drums, hard pews by soft chairs, stained glass by overhead projectors, dresses and ties by jeans and t-shirts, fruit punch by Starbucks. Any more, it is truly the exceptional minister that can adequately serve all ages and ethnicities. More to the point, only a congregation with exceptional focus on the Holy Spirit is free to reach out to diverse needs in the best way to meet each one.

A close look at the members of such a congregation will surely show a strong, supportive community, filled with grace, practiced in prayer, and completely reliant on the Holy Spirit. This congregation engages, challenges and encourages one another; together they have conquered the vices that separate and divide. They have achieved the goals so many set for their Lenten observances and have woven them into their dynamic lives. Moreover, they have incorporated these same practices into their communal life, infusing the business of the organization with the Living Word. In this unity of direction, individual and corporate, service to God is entwined with service to neighbor and both are strengthened.

May God show you how to turn your Lenten observances into church-wide practices.

Responsive Vision

Many churches provide inspirational material to their members in support of Lent. From daily Bible readings to meditations to book lists to podcasts and videos. These have been commented on earlier under the discipline of study. Establishing daily practices that involve learning and the pursuit of knowledge fit especially well within the Lenten tradition. Moving beyond the desire for increased personal knowledge, believers may be inspired to organize group learning experiences, be it topical discussions, book groups or lecture series. Moving still further, people may be inspired to journal (or the electronic equivalent, blog), lead a group or teach. Whether on the giving or receiving end, these activities all center on transferring ideas from one person to one or more other persons - in each case, the desired result is individual improvement. There is an even higher aspect to this, to which experience and fellowship are important, but where responsive vision is key. Responsive because participants must be receptive to the Holy Spirit, but also visionary, because there results a motivating consensus that shapes future activity.

Richard J. Foster identifies this as a separate corporate discipline in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth and names it Guidance. He describes it at length and gives several examples, from which it is clear that Guidance is achieved only through great conviction and dedication. At its heart, Guidance is a commitment by every person in the community to achieve complete consensus - all members in agreement on a common position. This is not democracy, where the majority rules, even if that majority is a benevolent one. Neither is it obedience to a leader, regardless of how charismatic he or she might be. Rather, it is a true community, where each member can expect to be heard and where each individual is as important as the group. In the secular world, with its varied motivations and aspirations, it is almost inconceivable that this form of government, if you will, could succeed. But in the Christian context, it is more than possible, it is the desire of every congregation. For all churches wish to be led by the will of the Holy Spirit and it is only by each person striving to understand that will, within the group context, that the group can become united.

So the path to Guidance is filled with effort and as Foster is quick to point out, must be achieved gradually and with much practice. How then, can it become a Lenten practice? First, by frequent dependence on other disciplines. Prayer, study, generosity, worship, all have a place in cultivating awareness of the Holy Spirit and this awareness is foundational to Guidance. Second, issues must be identified and an appropriate guidance group selected. For a broad example, some congregations allow any person to raise a question, with the path forward discerned by the group. More specifically to a Lenten practice, the individual may pose a question to selected individuals or a small group, with instructions on the form of the response desired. Finally, the various participants must work together until unanimity is achieved, a process that can lead to community action, or at least community support for those that must act.

For those that are beginning or are unpracticed, this discipline should be applied on a small scale, small in the complexity of the issues addressed, small in the size of the community and slow in the speed with which agreement is reached. But as successes are achieved, they will become a solid structure on which future Guidance can be built and as a united group, the accomplishments possible will compound dramatically.

May God lead you personally in ways that awaken group participation.

Joy in Worship

There is a natural progression from the soul searching and habit formation discussed earlier to complementary group practices. Preeminent among these for many Christians, is worship. Even done poorly, worship provides opportunities for reflection, consideration of a message and prayer, while many services also provide music and ritual. While these characteristics meet deep, fundamental needs for many, they aren't sufficient to produce a vibrant community.

To see this, consider the standard Protestant order of worship. It typically includes a Prelude, during which the congregation takes their places with muted conversation and mouthed hellos. There is an opening song, a call to worship, which may include a responsive reading, and a unison or silent confession of sin or similar preparatory activity. Welcoming remarks and announcements may or may not include a period for worshippers to greet their neighbors, after which congregants settle into a scripted sequence that includes Biblical readings, anthems, a sermon and alms collection. A pastoral prayer lifts general concerns to God and may mention specific persons with known needs. Communion, if observed, may include a practice known as passing the peace, but is otherwise an individual experience. After a benediction, the congregation typically is encouraged to attend a period of fellowship, but an attendee could just as easily leave. In all, the one hour service could contain as little as 3 or 4 minutes of face-to-face interactions with other worshippers. Some Sundays, in some parts of America, it would not be hard to arrive at church, go through the service without speaking or singing and leave, without attracting attention or raising an eyebrow.

To be certain, such passivity is far from the norm, even in the most respectful of worship settings. But the focus is clearly on a one-way transfer of ideas and information, from the clergy and lay leaders to the congregation. And there is little room for spiritual joy, much less spontaneity. So it is easy to understand that this is unappealing to many people. Especially during Lent, the mood can be somber and the subject matter serious. In these cases, taking a break from Lenten practices, in order to attend Sunday worship, is like a TV show on the best Superbowl commercials pausing for a word from sponsors. It's like an accountant taking time off to do his taxes or a sanitation worker taking out his own trash. Without fellowship and joy, worship can become drudgery and routine.

Is this what God desires? That His children approach Him devoid of gaiety and mirth? Surely not. The purpose of Lenten observances cannot be to impose a straightjacket of discipline and procedure. Rather, it must be to create balance, to ensure that Christians have a full life, one that reserves enough time for internal reflection, for speaking with God and for celebration with each other. It is difficult to know whether on the whole, more people pursue increased worship participation during Lent believing it to be a route to a better individual relationship with God, or anticipating that regular attendance will produce stronger relations with other Christians. It would seem that the former is more often promoted; it would be nice if the latter resulted at least as frequently.

May the God of all life bring you joy this Lenten season.

Giving Oneself

The St. Paul Catholic Center once posted an article, "Lent in practical terms: giving alms", that portrayed almsgiving as a counter-cultural activity. There is certainly an element of truth to this, though the Internal Revenue Service does exempt from taxes documented donations to a wide variety of charitable organizations. Still, the prevailing emphasis on individual initiative and achievement, and the negative rhetoric associated with public welfare programs creates a strong cultural bias against those living in poverty. Somehow, society judges it must be their fault, either through bad choices or some form of character deficiency. This sentiment is so strong that it persists, even in light of reckless and/or negligent behavior on the part of large businesses or government institutions. Witness the recent economic problems brought about in no small part by risky banking policies allowed by inattentive regulatory oversight. Few in the large institutions have suffered as much as the homeowners they have foreclosed on. And the insidious part is that the downward spiral of high unemployment leading to home foreclosures leading to a poor economy leading to higher unemployment has caught up many who were not participants in the suspect lending practices. Yet, society has done a very poor job assisting the unemployed to keep their housing, in effect deeming them unworthy.

It is a clear injustice, therefore, to blame the poor, en mass, for their plight. It is also futile to attempt to divide the poor into the 'deserving poor' and the 'undeserving poor'. Such is simply bias and prejudice by another name. Rather, it makes more sense to view the distribution of wealth as a statistical outcome, with a myriad of causes accounting for any particular individual's net worth. Most assuredly, one of those causes is random chance, and while there is the temptation to say "There, but for the grace of God, go I", doing so is a big mistake. Hidden in that one short phrase, is the refusal to take any responsibility whatsoever, either for participating in a society that allows such to happen, or for carrying out concrete steps that could ease the suffering of the afflicted.

In Lent, however, there is the recognition that the grace of God does send Christians there, not as a punishment or in revenge, but because He wills us to be caring and supportive of the oppressed and the unfortunate. He desires that we become closer to those we help and that their position be lifted toward ours, too. Ideally, this presence with the downtrodden would be in person, but that is inefficient and impossible on a large scale. Instead, financial support of charitable causes substitutes. This has always seemed a dismal replacement, because it deprives both giver and receiver of the relationship that could develop. Allowed to flourish, that relationship might actually change attitudes and outcomes in ways a simple transfer of money cannot. The church, in its many forms, has often encouraged these personal exchanges, but oddly not as a Lenten practice. It is an opportunity lost.

In fact, many churches encourage anonymous giving, ostensibly to avoid making a public display of generosity. For monies that support local operations, this makes some sense, but it encourages a passivity that outsiders might well interpret as hypocrisy. And for gifts that are intended primarily to support specific outward missions, that passivity prevents the intimacy that is built when donors participate personally.

For Lent, and for the desired spiritual growth, it is important to make almsgiving more than just the ritual offering of a tithe. Whether it is through use of one of the personalized giving programs popular with some charities (see World Vision, the Heifer Project, or Samaritan's Purse, among many others) or it is by volunteering locally, or it is through some other means, giving of oneself is critical. It is what Jesus did constantly, what he taught to His disciples and what he charged all His followers to do.

This Lent, may God bless your almsgiving with a deeper connection to those receiving your donation.

Hunger

There are over 7,000,000,000 people alive on the Earth. That's 7 billion. In order to put that in context, if all the people of the Earth were to line up to shake your hand and that line could be stretched out in a single direction, it would wrap around the world at least 53 times. And if you could shake one hand each second, less than 1.2 billion people would have passed by 2050, at which point an additional 2 billion people would have joined the line. If God were to spend time with each person equally and individually, one at a time, over the span of your lifetime your total time with Him would be less than half a second. Staggering numbers such as these, can make the belief in a personal God seem ludicrous. But such is the wisdom of men and as Paul tells the Corinthians, "... the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Not that Christians can ignore the truth of the 7 billion. That truth includes the fact that about 1 in 7 of those people will spend their hunger-shortened lives thinking almost entirely about their next bite of food. The next 1 billion people also endure persistent hunger, even as the world's farmers currently produce enough food to meet the needs of every human alive. The world has never known such need by so many people. There is much to be done and not a second to be wasted.

Without contradiction, there is also much to be celebrated. The same 7 billion statistic means there have never been so many alive at one time that have time to spare after feeding themselves and their families. Modern communications link persons and cultures that are literally a world apart. And in spite of radical technological and social change, mankind has been able, thus far, to avoid insanity and self-destruction.

How can these disparate views be reconciled? Much of the world has stopped trying. In first world countries, tremendous self-justification systems and mass denial prop up positions that are untenable in the long run. It is just a matter of time before these houses of cards implode under their own weight. To some, recent economic difficulties are a harbinger and a foretaste of the apocalypse to come. In second- and third-world countries, there seems to be a belief that copying first world extravagances is the best approach. The lunacy of the "what worked in the past is best for the future" mentality cannot be overstated. Any reasonable solution to poverty must also address world population growth at the same time. Never in the past has this been done and never has it been so necessary.

Integration of both promise and challenge is not impossible, however. While Christians do not have a monopoly on resolution of this dilemma, their voices need to be clear, unified and heard. Humanity cannot turn its back on the suffering of the least of its members - such has and continues to be a source of tremendous upheaval, destructive unrest and failure to achieve mankind's great potential. The Gospel message is certainly clear. Christ came to preach justice for the downtrodden and compassion for the needy. Christians everywhere need to be vocal on these matters.

Neither can Christians ignore the tremendous strides that elements of Western-style progress have brought to the entire world. Advances in medicine, food production and communication are clearly responsible for elevating the common good. And new technologies, scarcely imaginable today, will bring even greater advances tomorrow. Christians have the opportunity to embrace these new ideas and they have the moral obligation to shape their application for universal benefit.

Undoubtedly, the challenges of the next generation will be daunting and if left unaddressed will be all but impossible for the following generation. There is nothing to be gained by waiting. The world has no use for practices and policies dependent upon a reality that no longer exists. And it cannot survive without strong advocacy for compassion. The world desperately needs Christians with an affluent hunger, people looking out for "the least of these" with the best that science has to offer. The call has never been clearer than it is this Lent and never has it been more appropriate for Lenten practices to create a hunger and thirst for this righteousness.

May God show you a future bright with both progress and love.

Servanthood

Fortified with increasing inner resources and becoming aware of the many needs in the world outside, caring people naturally begin to wonder what can be done to help. Small steps, such as manning a phone during a pledge drive or making food for the local homeless shelter raises awareness and may lead to more active volunteerism. Deepening involvement crosses normal social boundaries and challenges giver and receiver to make personal connections. Lives on both sides can be changed.

It all starts with the simple steps - seeing a need, listening to a request, filling a gap. If begun as a part of a Lenten practice, the exploratory nature of that new commitment soon gives way to faithful perseverance. Hopefully, the practice goes on past Easter or gives way to a sustainable commitment. With regular effort comes increasing responsibility and deeper levels of caring. It is important, however, that this process is Christ-centered and wholesome in its motivations.

For these reasons, it is advisable that the person giving care regularly evaluate his or her feelings and actions. Feelings because they are central to maintaining long-term healthy relationships and actions because they hint at subconscious factors.

Feelings are natural and unavoidable and often uncontrollable. They demand to be expressed and will erupt in most unpredictable ways if suppressed. Better that they be channeled into acceptable forms of expression, that they at least be given voice and preferably be harnessed to bring about desired achievements. Experience informs when feelings can be allowed to run free and when redirection is necessary, but feelings are what they are and no one should be judged for having feelings.

Actions are the ways feelings are expressed and maturity brings choice in which actions are taken and which are denied. Society strongly dictates actions that are acceptable and actions that are unacceptable in nearly all situations. Within those acceptable to society, however, there are a wide variety of choices, ranging from encouraged to ill advised, from rash to considered, from passive to aggressive, from helpful to obstructive. The options are numerous and only a small number can be considered righteous. Those are the ones the Lenten observer seeks.

But this focuses on the actions, on the results seen from without. More important to God's Kingdom are the motivations within. These vary as well, but one critical factor is how servant-like the person becomes. Clearly, Jesus taught His disciples to be servants and He modeled service to the poor and oppressed. Striving to be like Him makes us desire to be servants, too. But not just any servant. Rather we desire to be motivated by love and compassion, to be faithful and devoted, to be trustworthy and competent, and most of all, to be like Christ. These traits are promoted by the Stephen Ministry program, which trains lay caregivers to provide one-on-one weekly Christian care to people who have requested it.

Stephen Ministry makes a strong distinction between servanthood, choosing to help meet another's needs out of compassion and empathy, and servitude, acting to meet expectations or out of a sense of obligation. While elements of both are likely present in any relationship, whether servanthood or servitude is the primary motivation will distinctively shape the form of service and the emotions attached to it. Servanthood blesses both the care receiver and the care giver and draws them closer together. Servitude causes a separation between care receiver and care giver and often results in resentment by one or both parties. Servanthood embodies the Christ-like virtues that are so valued and rare. Servitude is more typical of the capitalistic and legalistic approach, uniform and antiseptic. Servanthood is flexible and adaptable. Servitude is specified and constricted. Obviously, the Lenten observer will be seeking to give out of a sense of servanthood.

While the environment can make things easier or harder, the approach is determined by the care giver. Equal service can be supplied for different reasons, so the care giver is free to choose servanthood over servitude. Or not, but the choice makes all the difference in the world. Servanthood is sustainable over long periods and supports itself for both care receiver and care giver. Servitude eats away at the care giver and care receiver alike, until the relationship is consumed and continuing becomes impossible. It is important, then, that the choice of servanthood be made freely and in the light of Christ's similar choice for us. Only by maintaining that focus is our service made holy and are our efforts consecrated.

May Christ-centered service that is compassionate, trustworthy and faithful be the true expression of your love for God and neighbor.

Choosing Life

Once space is made in life's busyness and once Jesus has set up a small satellite office there, He begins to reach out to others in His typical fashion. At first, the tasks are simple and small, but later they become much bigger, sometimes taking over completely. That can be scary, but it also can be thrilling. Either way, the choices boil down to participate or opt out.

As has been pointed out before, Lenten practices are usually adopted with only a vague notion of the effort and consequences entailed. Wishing to know more about the Bible, for instance, does not imagine that the Scriptures might actually come alive and challenge in a transformative way. And entering into a daily prayer routine does not suppose that it will powerfully redirect life in any way. But believers are aware that some change may occur, however indefinite the bounds of that change may be. And if they do, most believers would welcome them, at least at first.

For the Lord, in His mercy, is often gentle in His first nudging. It may be a curiosity, or a nagging desire to do something concrete, or a conviction that some small change will lead to growth. Whatever the leading, things unnoticed before become visible now and later, obvious. Subtle cues once ignored lead to openness, then outright questioning. Subjects avoided in the past are no longer taboo and are eventually faced head on. In this progression, the comfort of complacency is traded for awareness and then traded again for engagement. That much is allowed for, even desired, in the believers initial steps.

There is more, though, that is encountered. For in addition to the increasing involvement, there is matching personal investment that draws us into the problems we encounter. Listening to another's grief, we begin to grieve ourselves. Facing the truth of injustice to another, we feel anger. And touching someone else's faith struggles, our faith becomes similarly challenged. In short, we become better at feeling empathy. But this is not what we imagined, it hurts and it wakens fears we thought had been put to rest. Did anyone bother to warn that closeness to God can be painful?

Yes, they did. Was it not clear that Lent and the practices taken on are to remind us of the suffering of Christ? Isn't God completely aware of the difference between what is and what could be? Is it that hard to believe that Good Friday is not about physical death, as utterly unbearable as that was, but is more about spiritual death, which is infinitely more horrible? The truth of Holy Week is that as Christ wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), it was actually our sins that He grieved over. And His death on the cross didn't just make our death unimportant, it made our life with God possible. And while that absolutely sounds like good news, it means we begin to feel both good and bad, joy and suffering.

The beauty is that once we have tasted this fuller life of ups and downs, we realize that it was always available, but we refused to join in. And though the option to quit is always given us, it really is no option at all. There is but one life that God offers and even if it is filled with joy and pain, ecstasy and suffering, to refuse is to deny community and to reject growth, it is to choose death.

May you see life with God for the excitement, thrills and challenges He intends.

Heavenly Focus

Once the God-focused mindset begins to take root, a different outlook starts to take over, guiding words and actions accordingly. At first, these changes are small and may differ primarily in motivation, but eventually they will become noticeable to all. Old activities are measured by the new yardstick and those that are found wanting are changed or are replaced completely. New practices are adopted to meet new priorities and together, old and new drive an updated self. The changes are rarely accomplished without risk and maybe some pain, but the results are well worth the effort.

Initially, at least, believers make sacrifices, analogous to surgical interventions, cutting off excess fat here and maybe bypassing a blockage there, and while the incisions may be difficult and painful, the wounds are stitched together and the remainder of the body is left intact. Once the cuts have healed and the scars begin to fade, a somewhat healthier life results. But if treatment does not progress to even more difficult therapy, the improvement will be temporary and the surgery will have to be repeated. To be more fully healthy, additional lifestyle modifications will need to occur. Spiritual health is much the same - habits that are clearly sinful can, with effort, be ended and such growth provides early rewards, but deep spiritual wholeness is much more than absence of obvious sin. Eventually, even good habits may need to be re-worked to be more completely in line with Christ's example.

From the inside, change may appear slow or uneven and the new practices may not seem to be a good fit. Initial uncertainties may give way to impatience, even anger or shame as old ways die hard. But change is possible, desirable, even required. Because growth means change and without growth, the soul dies.

From the outside, change is much more evident, to those who are watching. What seems like slow going on the inside, looks like patience from the outside. What appears to be halting progress on the inside, looks like courage and daring from the outside. And what seems timid and inadequate on the inside, looks like caring empathy from the outside. The self still sees failure and blame when it looks inward, but the focus is changing and what is near becomes blurry as the lens is moved to show others sharply. And as we move to see others more clearly, God's Kingdom comes into view. The two are inseparable, adjusting to one centers the other. So as Lenten practices bring alignment with God's will, attention is drawn first to neighbor, then to enemy. And as the well being of others becomes more important, nearness to Christ results. Both are necessary to bring grace and peace and the presence of both reveals inner beauty for all to see.

May your Lenten focus expand to include a glimpse of God, in your neighbor's face.

Small Stuff

The Discipline of Simplicity is not only a balancing act between needs and desires, but it is also an exercise in priorities. "Seek first the Kingdom of God" Jesus instructs. And that is where the Discipline of Simplicity begins, with the elevation of Godly things above personal things. That, in itself, takes practice, but even a little proficiency can produce noticeable changes. One need not be in constant communion with Christ in order to begin replacing old ways with new choices. Rather, as small achievements in spirituality begin to yield fruit, the failed promises of sinful habits become more and more obvious, and the desire to move forward becomes a stronger motivation than the fear of change.

All too often, the fear of change is rooted in "What if...". Our what ifs are quite often expressions of anxiety about particular outcomes, all of them extrapolated from the present and only some of them likely. That humans are better at imagining the negative consequences of our actions than the positive is wired in, an evolutionary result created by jungle survival. But the same forces lead to poor estimates of likelihood, so by enumerating the possibilities, each is given substantial weight, even though many of them taken together might still be improbable to the point of insignificance. The result is a life governed by the fear of failure rather than the hope of success.

To counteract this tendency, it may be necessary to think through only the most important outcomes, where most important takes into account both highly probable and highly beneficial (or costly) events. These outcomes with high significance should certainly be thought through carefully, but time spent on other outcomes should be recognized as being of little consequence. This approach can be summed up by the folk wisdom of Richard Carlson as "Don't sweat the small stuff." The unlikely and inconsequential outcomes do not deserve our attention and so should be dismissed from consideration early.

Few would argue with this common sense, as hard as it might be to actually practice not sweating over the small stuff. But even if the truth of the phrase is accepted, still up for debate is the distinction between small and large. This is where the Discipline of Simplicity comes into full force. Personal comfort argues to increase the amount of stuff in the large category, pushing the threshold to smaller and smaller stuff. This lets us keep our security blankets, the practices that provide busy-ness and keep faith and trust in God at bay. If the world really is a dangerous place and we really are on our own against it, then all manner of activity is required to properly keep our guard up. But alignment with God's will means worshipping Him alone and buying into His plan for our lives. That plan assures us that we are not alone, that He can be trusted to protect us and see us through any disappointments. And that worship reveals His world as a bountiful gift, filled with provisions that satisfy our needs. Armed with this conviction, we can lift the bar, shedding all sorts of useless complexity, entrusting our future to Him and devoting our efforts to the things that are important to Him. Ultimately, we are likely to conclude that through Him, nothing is worth our worry, that everything is small stuff.

May God lead you, bit by bit, to the realization that it's all small stuff.

Inner Simplicity

"Simplicity is freedom" writes Richard J. Foster in Celebration of Discipline. That freedom is gained through release from the demands of the unnecessary things found in a cluttered existence. So, identifying personal idols and removing reliance on them are steps in achieving the discipline of simplicity. Many people feel this instinctively when they strive to eliminate habits or products that dominate their lives. And it is certainly true that people who have achieved simplistic living clearly demonstrate it outwardly for all to see. The honesty, openness, generosity and serenity displayed by such people are admirable traits that many seek.

But as Foster makes clear, it is not sufficient to adopt the outward behavior itself. For if the results become the goal, the pathway too often becomes a legalistic set of new behaviors that are just as constricting and unsatisfying as those just ended. Money and possessions are not guarantors of happiness, but neither is the monastic tradition. Forcing oneself into a straightjacket of shalls and shall nots produces bitterness and an obsessive attention to details. What possible value can there be in replacing 'too much' with 'not enough'? Simplicity, then, is not absence, but moderation, a moderation striving for an optimum where needs are satisfied without giving in to desires. In this way there is a balance, a wholesome state where craving morphs into fulfillment and anxiety gives way to trust.

So the outward signs of Simplicity are not the result of rules. Rather, outward visibility properly reflects an inward state of mind, a peaceful devotion to righteous things, an alignment with God's will. And it is pursuit of this internal focus that is the correct application of the discipline of simplicity. Bad habits are released, consuming activities are ended, idols are toppled, not by force and subjugation of personal will, but by intentional election that replaces them with attention to divine thought, with concentration on His Kingdom. This, in turn, becomes the driving force of outward change - external practices conform to the internal agenda and daily life takes on heavenly purposes. Old fears subside as faith in God's provision grows; new confidence in holistic endeavors pushes out the frantic race to grab mirages of security; and best of all, the freedom so sought for by personal effort is received as a divine gift.

May God's gift of freedom in simplicity be acceptable to you.

Idols of Habit

Idol worship is a tricky subject, even in religions where it is strictly forbidden, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. On the one hand, modern interpretation in these faiths denies completely that there is more than one God. It isn't that God is the highest divinity in existence, He is the only divinity in existence. On the other hand, humans are wired to understand symbols, and we love to set them up for each and every concept. Few would claim that a crucifix is an idol and even fewer that Christians worship the cross itself. Still, it can certainly appear that way to an outsider.

What is worse, outsiders are sometimes quite good at finding hypocrisy in the way Christians express their faith. Indeed, Jesus himself reserved some of His harshest criticism for the Pharisees of that time, the very people who made it their express aim to be the best Jews they could be, by strict observance of both written and oral Hebrew laws. The very word Pharisee derives from the Hebrew, perusim, meaning 'to set apart', perhaps from their practice of keeping themselves separate from all things spiritually unclean. This could mean separation from the very widows and peasants that depended on the synagogue to get by, a particular point of contention for Jesus. But Jesus was not against observing the laws of Israel. Rather, He was insistent that the laws serve the will of God and never supersede it.

Of course, the Pharisees were largely unpersuaded by Jesus, unable to see the error of their ways. And since Jesus confronted the Pharisees on many occasions, the Christian traditions and teachings naturally emphasize that believers should find and eliminate their own hypocrisies. That doesn't make it easy to do.

To get started, an inventory of personal activities is needed. This can be an actual list, gathered by exhaustively listing each and every action performed for a day or more and the time it took, or it can be an awareness, obtained either through frequent prayerful requests for God's presence in every activity or through the constructive criticism of friends and family. The list then becomes a source for contemplation, so that all activities are subject to the test of God's will. An honest evaluation can produce surprising results. For example, a friend was prompted one Lent to consider shopping as a personal idol. It was surprising because this person did not shop excessively, nor did she spend extravagantly. But through her Lenten journey, she discovered she devoted considerable time to planning and optimizing the purchases she did make. By giving this up for Lent, she became aware of the effort she was spending and the freedom she gained to concentrate on more important things.

So modern idols are not graven images, but more likely are self-chosen behaviors that once served a useful purpose, soothing our fears, preparing us for unfamiliar tasks or satisfying needs that long since have changed. Meticulous bookkeeping in an era of electronic statements, hoarding of items not used in years, time spent adjusting and re-adjusting wardrobe choices, fixed daily or weekly travel patterns and times - anything habitual with outdated or trivial justification can be a symptom of an underlying idol. Once identified, a Lenten practice can be crafted that continues to meet true needs, while cutting out the rest.

May God grant you discernment, so that your idols become known and confronted.

Idolatry

To date, the explored Lenten practices have concentrated on those that Richard J. Foster calls the 'inward disciplines' - fasting, prayer, and study (Foster also includes meditation). There are other observances that have a more outward focus and these will be treated next, starting with a rather loose collection of activities that might qualify as fasting, in the broadest sense of the word. Instead, the word 'simplicity' will be used here, partly because these practices aim to release activities that clutter our lives and confuse our priorities and partly because the aim is not so much to give up something, but to gain the serenity that a slower life promises.

I recall a past Lent that featured a weekly series of lectures and small group exercises to reflect on modern life and the obstacles that might block a fuller spiritual life. In the terminology of the series, the pastors asked the group to consider their idols. Now, such terminology is chosen carefully and does not imply overt worship of multiple gods. Rather, the term acknowledges one classic human sin - to trust in things that cannot satisfy, rather than in spiritual things that provide fulfillment. Of course, there is an endless list of such disappointing things and each person has their own weaknesses in this regard. But for the purposes of illustration, the topic names from the series will suffice: Power, Money, Sex, Family and Culture.

It may seem odd that a topic such as Family ranks high enough to make the short list for a Lenten program. Isn't devotion to family encouraged by the Bible and a worthwhile pillar of both the church and of our nation? True enough, so in what sense, then, can Family be called an idol?

In the Lenten context there are two types of family ties that are worth severing. First, there are ties that are unhealthy, relationships that consume and destroy, that possess and deny. Certainly this class includes pathology, but even short of that there may be family ties that impede personal growth or discourage belief. Tolerating such things in the name of family unity must be critically considered. It is only natural that the season of Lent encourages examination and elimination of such barriers, though it may certainly require effort well beyond a single season.

The second set of family ties that should be cut are those that are too close, where family bonds are so tight as to suffocate or which place the family on a pedestal above even God. These tendencies are difficult to recognize and may even be praised by friends and churchmates. It is not uncommon, for example, for families with teens to abandon worship attendance for participation in extra-curricular events, such as sports or weekend getaways. Seen in the reality of God's desire for our loyalty, these things most often detract from obedience to His will. Only in rare cases does the family seek balancing opportunities to retain the focus on a Godly life. Lent is a good time to examine these ties, as well.

Discerning idols of the heart is fraught with self-deception, so must be done deliberately and with resolve, because the changes necessary can be deep and can extend to relationships with other people we hold dear. Ultimately, however, these idols separate us from God and are thereby sinful. So they must be removed, no matter the cost.

May you be able to clear away the idols separating you from God.

That Day

It happens to everybody - that day. That day is a day that has been planned for some time. That day is important and busy. That day fits everything in its slot and every slot is filled. That day is doable. That day has been reviewed from all different directions and each contingency is covered. That day even starts out just as envisioned. But somewhere during that day, something goes awry and the dominoes stop falling by the agenda. More likely the schedule explodes and splinters go in all directions. In that day, it is truly a miracle if no innocent person gets hurt.

That day happens. Too often, that day happens in the middle of Lent. Somewhere between adapting to life without caffeine and the arrival of the Easter bunny, keeping faith with earlier pledges becomes impossible. It would only be fair if that day could be clipped out of Lent as easy as taking a pair of scissors to a square on the calendar, but life is not fair (neither is Lent). Snipping away simply leaves a gaping whole in the fabric of time, an obvious dent in the front fender of accomplishment, uncomfortable silence in the radio broadcast that is faithfulness. Ignoring the lapse just doesn't do justice to the broken commitment.

So what to do?

First off, it is important to strike a balance. Just as the individual desire may be to attain a closer identification with Christ's journey and sacrifice, to come closer to the presence of God, so there is a matching desire for intimacy on the divine side. Neither exaggerated guilt or easy forgiveness helps in achieving these goals. The solution must strike a balance between these extremes.

Second, recognize that spiritual practices are like any other activity in a wholesome, God-connected life and they must be subject to the spiritual needs of the moment. They are to a certain extent rigid, making them prone to influence by forces that are beyond our control. After all, as beneficial as useful spiritual practices may be, they are still human endeavors, tools that should be used often, but with care. For they are imperfect, just as everything human is imperfect.

Finally, that day represents an opportunity. As frustrating and disappointing as that day is, it is also a chance to replace ritual with an open mind, to substitute mechanical execution with listening and responding, to evaluate again the promises made and the challenges refused. That day keeps us aware of our inability to control even our best laid plans. That day reminds us of the impossibility of life (or Lent) without sin. That day could be God speaking through worldly pathways. That day may actually be a blessing.

May you accept that day for the blessing that God intends.