“Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.” – Wendell Berry
Good.
“God doesn’t love us because we’re good. We are good because God loves us.” -Fr. Daniel Francis
Empty.
Lent is the season of the church that starts on Ash Wednesday (today) and ends on Easter. It’s dark and somber. Solemn and quiet. Chock full of scripture, tradition and spiritual discipline.
Sometimes, especially toward the end, Lent is sad.
But I love it.
In an email I got around Ash Wednesday last year, a friend of mine who’s a Franciscan friar explained the concept of kenosis. It’s the “process of emptying,” he wrote, and it’s “very common in our Christian spirituality.” Especially during Lent.
Most practicing Roman Catholic Christians fast until dinner on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We don’t eat meat on Ash Wednesday, or on any Friday in Lent. We usually make a 40-day sacrifice. Sometimes, it’s a sacrifice of time, like volunteering at a food bank, going to mass daily or waking up earlier every day to read the Bible. Other times, it’s actually giving up stuff. In past Lents, I’ve given up chocolate. Bread. CDs. Facebook. Once, I heard about a guy who gave up his bed (so he slept on the floor).
But what people give up is only part of the point. The rest of the point is what happens to you when you deny yourself something. Fewer things means fewer distractions. Time is finite. Attention is finite. The fewer our obligations, the more time and attention we can give to what’s left. The more time and attention we give, the higher the quality of it. When we give up stuff, it puts a new perspective on the difference between the words want and need. When we sacrifice, it empties us.
That, the Franciscan friar wrote, is the point.
“In order to let God fill our life, we need to empty it first.”
Here’s to an empty Lent.
Christmas is coming.
Christmas is coming. And it is, in my opinion (though possibly in fact), the most wonderful time of the year.
I realize that as I write this, it has only been 10 hours since I ate turkey on Thanksgiving. But there is more to Thanksgiving’s end than a tryptophan-induced coma. The end of Thanksgiving signifies the beginning of Advent, a liturgical season in which followers of Christ await and prepare for the celebration of His birth.
It is also when all kinds of people lose their freakin’ minds. Sometimes, the holiday mind-loss is voluntary (case in point: shopping on Black Friday.). Other times, people don’t pre-plan to do things that are crazy. They only succumb to the insanity when the voluntarily-crazies cut them off with cars and shopping carts or call them out for paying with checks instead of credit.
And so what happens is, while we go into Advent intending to prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, we get a little distracted when we have to fight over the last can of pumpkin puree, or to get into and out of parking spots, or with some kid’s angry grandma because she yelled at us when we glanced at the last set of Harry Potter Legos and she thought doing so meant we’d try to take it from her cart.
Not a particularly productive way to spend the season. Also, thankfully, not a necessary way to spend it. There is a moving, rebellious alternative: the Advent Conspiracy. If you haven’t heard of it, take 2 minutes and 39 seconds to watch this:
Feeling free to conspire yet?
From the Advent Conspiracy blog:
1. [AC] was created by three pastors who simply wanted to challenge people to make Christmas personal again. We are asking folks to consider doing four things: Worship Jesus Fully, Consider Spending Less on gifts that are bought out of obligation, Give More relational gifts, and use a little bit of the money you didn’t spend to Love All by helping those in need.
2. No money comes through, to, under, over or around [AC]. We are not an organization. We’re a movement.
3. We really love giving people clean water (did you know the lack of clean water is the number one killer in our world). You should check out Living Water International for more info. That being said, we want you to make this a personal thing between you and God. If you have another organization that you wish to support, go for it!
Happy Advent!
Seek first His kingdom.
Pretty much daily, I need to remind myself that Jesus meant what he said. He didn’t speak to break an awkward silence or to draw attention to himself.
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things,” he said. “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
What we need: Food, drink, shelter, clothes.
Kick it up a notch.
What we think we need: Financial security. A significant other. Our way.
It boggles the mind that he told us a) what to do because b) he knows what we need and c) he will get it to us. Yet so often, we still seek first all the other stuff.
He meant what he said. Every word. Trust him.