Category: Lent

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture Truth

Freed by Truth.

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The 36th word in my Lent lexicon is:

TRUTH.

Truth matters. Our relationships and societies rely on basic underlying truths that are generally accepted and agreed upon. If we are to live well and flourish we need to be able to discern what is true and what isn’t. This applies to personal, institutional and societal relationships. If we don’t know who or what to believe it becomes impossible to trust, and to live with hope.

It seems to me that this was once a fairly straightforward concept. We could mostly recognise truth. Even with disagreements and differences we could mostly agree on what was true. In recent times that seems to have become less and less the case.

We live in a “post-truth society” without ever stopping to ask ourselves if that leads to human flourishing or what essential human qualities it undermines. It does protect individualism, so that “my truth” can be different to “your truth” and neither of us has to give way of compromise.

Jesus addresses truth in today’s gospel, Jesus takes a different view:

“If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free.”

The truth he speaks of is not optional. Can lead us to true freedom, a freedom that is not about self-interest or individualism, but about the common good. He’s not talking “post-truth”, that cuts out the need for engagement or compromise.

The truth he offers us will challenge us and call us to let go of many things we hold dear, and it will lead us to true freedom.

How is Christ’s truth leading you to freedom this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Letting go of grumbling.

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The 35 word in my Lent lexicon is: GRUMBLING. Throughout the Rule St Benedict warns the community of the dangers of grumbling. It’s not to be tolerated in any circumstances. He even tells us that obeying with grumbling is no better than disobeying.

At first glance this can seem a bit excessive, but a few moments honest reflection helps us to see his point. We can all see how undermining grumbling can be in our lives and our relationships

On their journey through the desert the Israelites did their fair share of grumbling. They grumbled because they had no food, and God provided food, they grumbled because they had no water and God provided water. Then they grumbled because they didn’t like the food they were given.

Their grumbling had devastating circumstances for their communities, until they recognised the error of their ways and turned back to God, admitting their sin and their need. This created a space where God could offer them healing:

“Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, they looked at the bronze serpent and lived.”

Their experience reminds us that we too can turn back to God, asking God to replace our grumbling with gratitude. In the healing light of God’s love, we can discover a new way of looking at things that leads us to appreciate what we have instead of grumbling about what we don’t have. In a world that tends to feed dissatisfaction learning be satisfied can be a real challenge, and can bring us to a new and life giving freedom.

Where are you been called to put aside grumbling this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Recognition.

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The 34 word in my Lent lexicon is:

I AM.

It takes me to the heart of the mystery of God, to God’s response to Moses when he asks God’s name at the Burning Bush. It recalls the mystery and wonder of the God who dwells in the heart of the pillar of fire, and the darkness of the cloud that leads the Israelites through the desert.

It’s echoed that striking moment in the gospel when Jesus asks the disciples who the crowds say he is. Their initial answer ranging from John the Baptist to Elijah doesn’t satisfy him, and he narrows his question down until Peter answers “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God…”

It’s a question that the gospel regularly presents each of us with, especially in Lent as we seek to follow him more closely. As we draw closer to Holy Week John’s gospel offers us an answer as Jesus seeks to reveal himself to the crowds. In today’s gospel he says:

“‘I am the light of the world… I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going…I may be testifying on my own behalf, but the Father who sent me is my witness too.”

His disclosure tells us that his true identity is in his closeness to the Father. This both answers the question and draws us deeper into it. How does Jesus’ union with the Father change our view of him?

Does it affect our view of ourselves? These are not questions with easy answers, they require deep and repeated reflection. As Jesus defines his “I AM” for our we might find our response changing and growing through the myriad challenges and joys of life.

As we journey through Lent where are you recognising Christ?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Beginning again.

The 33 word in my Lent lexicon is:

A NEW BEGINNING.

In some ways way could describe all of Lent as a new beginning. It’s what we’re offered first on Ash Wednesday as we’re invited to turn back to the gospel and to begin to live it more faithfully. That offer is repeated throughout Lent as we follow Jesus on his journey towards his passion and ultimately Resurrection.

Today’s readings touch on this theme of new beginnings. In the first reading Isaiah promise that the Lord is about to do “a new deed” creating a new way through the wilderness where God’s people can both travel and live safely.

In the gospel, the woman taken in adultery is offered a new beginning by Jesus in what initially seemed like the most unlikely of circumstances. Having challenged and seen off her accusers Jesus says to her:

“Neither do I condemn you…go away, and do not sin any more.”

While his words offer her a hope that must have seemed unimaginable a few minutes before. Yet the offer also carries a challenge, as Chaim Potok points out “all beginnings are hard.”

Whether we’re faced with a small beginning or a major one like this unnamed woman it’s never easy to begin again. We can’t accept the offer of a new beginning unless we let go of our sin, however safe and familiar it feels, and to step out into the unknown. As we start the 5th week of Lent we too are invited to risk embracing a new beginning in our lives.

Where is Christ challenging you walk away from your sin and make a new beginning this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Letting go of prejudice.

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The 32 word in my Lent lexicon is:

PREJUDICE.

At first glance prejudice is not a word we’d necessarily connect with Lent. Yet in today’s gospel the conversation between Nicodemus and the Pharisees give an almost perfect example of prejudice.

Joining in a conversation about who Jesus is Nicodemus points out that the Law requires that no one is judged without a fair hearing:

“But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on anyone without giving them a hearing and discovering what they are about?”

The response is not positive. Those who have already condemned Jesus in their mind do not want to be reminded of the requirements of the Law which they are flouting. Knowing they cannot win their case by engaging with Nicodemus at that level they immediately brush his query aside, saying:

“Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.”

They have an old prejudice against Galileans, and they use this to move the conversation on, enabling them to cast Jesus as an outsider, someone less deserving of consideration than they are.

It’s always easy to dismiss the Pharisees as an ancient group that have nothing to do with us. But often I think their role is to hold an uncomfortable mirror up to us. We know the chilling outcome of their prejudice.

This calls us, not to criticise them, but to look at our own lives. It calls us to ask what prejudices we carry? What people we belittle or see as outsiders? What people do we see as less valuable than ourselves? In our very challenging times these are questions we cannot afford to ignore.

What prejudice is Christ challenging you to let go of this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Discernment Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Learning to wait.

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The 31st word in my Lent lexicon is:

WAIT.

At the very end of today’s gospel St John writes:

“They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.”

His words touch on the sense of control and calm that Jesus seems to develop as we get closer to Holy Week and the passion. It’s something that is especially striking in John’s Gospel.

Although the crowd are angry and want to arrest him there is something in Jesus’ demeanour that stops them. It’s not the first time in Scripture that we’ve been told that Jesus slipped away because it wasn’t his time.

It marks a significant difference between his attitude and that of the crowd around him. All of them can feel the tension rising as Jesus travels round the country preaching and teaching. The crowd, acting in a perfectly understandable way, want to push things to a head, to take action, to force the situation.

Jesus, while he is equally aware of the tension, and possibly more aware of where it will lead, also knows that there is a right time for things to develop and move forward. So he is able to wait in the tension, knowing that his time will come.

Waiting is one of the hardest things to do even when life is straightforward and easy. It quickly becomes almost impossible as soon as life gets tough, painful, tense or stressful. In those situations any action seems preferable, because it’s less uncomfortable than waiting. Lent calls us to the uncomfortable practice of waiting.

Where is Christ asking you to learn to wait this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Cross Gospel John the Baptist Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Led by the light

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The 30 word in my Lent lexicon is:

LIGHT.

It’s not a word I generally connect with Lent, more often I connect it with Advent or Eastertide. But today this jumped out at me from the gospel:

“John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave. But my testimony is greater than John’s: the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me.”

Jesus’ words recall John’s testimony and the light he offered us. It was a good light, necessary and valuable. In our dark times it’s worth remembering that light that shone in our darkness, refusing to be overcome and showing us a way through.

Then Jesus takes us a step further, John’s light was good, he tells us, but I’m offering something more. He calls us to use the light to follow him into new and uncharted territory. The light of Jesus’ testimony will take us beyond what we already know. As we draw closer to Holy Week we have to acknowledge that. Living in our own hard times we are all too aware of the darkness we face and the need for that light.

Through his union with the Father the light Jesus offers us will guide us through all that darkness and lead us towards the new light and life of resurrection. The whole purpose of our Lent journey is to prepare our hearts to welcome that light wholeheartedly. Surely then part of our Lent practice is to seek that light in our lives and to trust us to lead us through Lent and whatever darkness we encounter there.

Where is Christ inviting you to allow his light into your life this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Psalms Rule of St Benedict Scripture

Being Kind

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The 29th word in my Lent lexicon is

KINDNESS.

Kindness is a small word. It carries no great intellectual, theological or spiritual weight. While we might admit the value of kindness many of us would not even think of it as part of a spiritual practice. It doesn’t speak of grand plans, actions or gestures. This can mean means that it’s easily overlooked.

It often relates to small things that we do for one another during the day that we don’t always even notice. Today’s responsorial psalm (144/145), provided the perfect opportunity to reflect this often overlooked practice. The psalmist writes:

“The Lord is kind and full of compassion.”

Often it’s something we recommend to little children, but don’t really think about allowing it consciously to shape our own practices or interactions. I can’t help feeling that this attitude means we miss out on a really valuable practice.

It seems to me that it’s the “smallness” of kindness that makes it possible for us to act on it. To be kind require a lot of energy or a huge amount of resources. It doesn’t mean we have to have answers or solve problems.

Kindness asks one very simple, straightforward thing from us… that we put others before ourselves. To be kind all we have to do is ask ourselves what would make another person feel more comfortable, more loved, more welcome in any given situation.

Yet, those small, seemingly insignificant actions can change lives and lighten burdens in ways we could never imagine.

Where is Christ inviting you to be kind this Lent?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

Restored to wholeness.

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The 28 word in my Lent lexicon is:

WHOLENESS.

Lent is a time for acknowledging brokenness. It calls us to reflect on our fragmented lives and relationships and the effect these can have on our lives and our relationships. As Lent calls us to acknowledge our fragmentation it also calls us to seek the healing that will restore us to wholeness within ourselves and in our relationships and societies.

In today’s 1 reading Ezekiel presents us with a beautiful image of wholeness. It recalls the unity and the wholeness of the creation narratives when God’s Spirit hovered over the waters bringing forth life in abundance. He shows us all of creation, held together by God, producing good things in abundance to sustain, nurture and heal all life:

“Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.”

So many things in life can leave us fragmented and broken. We can learn to live with that, but in our hearts we know it’s only a partial life, not the full and rich lives we’re created for and called to. It leaves so much of us cut off, abandoned or ignored.

So we live with this unfulfilled desire to be healed and for our wholeness to be restored. In offering us this image of wholeness Ezekiel invites us bring our fragmented selves back to God seeking to be made whole again. It’s requires humility to admit the brokenness, trust to ask for the healing we need and gratitude for the God who longs to make us whole again.

Where do you need God to restore you to holiness today?

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Scripture

People of hope.

The 27 word in my Lent lexicon is:

HOPE.

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Hope is essential for life. Its opposite, hopelessness can quickly drain all our energy and make life seem very difficult.

It’s relatively easy to be hopeful when life is going well. When we feel secure in our personal lives and when our societies seem prosperous and stable. At those times hope seems the obvious choice and doesn’t require much effort.

When life gets more challenging it’s much harder to be hopeful. When we see suffering, misunderstanding and even cruelty in every direction hope can begin to feel impossible and pointless. The same applies when we’re offered false hope, promises that we know in our hearts won’t stand the test of time and become reality. In his letter to the Romans St Paul gives us a reason to hope that will stand up whatever we face:

“Hope does not disappoint, since the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”

Writing in his own challenging times St Paul could see that the real source of hope is the love of God holding us in being however challenging our times are.

Today’s gospel takes up this message. Desperate as the court official is at his sons’ illness he’s able to glean enough hope in the hard situation to ask for Jesus’ help and to believe it when Jesus tells him his son will live:

“The man believed what Jesus had said…”

In our own challenging times we too can rely on the hope that God offers us will sustain us and support us whatever we’re compelled to face.

Where is Christ offering you hope this Lent?