What do we fast from?

The three temptations that Jesus encounters in the desert even beset us today. They are basically the same lie. We are only someone if we are powerful, influential, and relevant. We need to be seen, heard, and connected to the right people. The danger is that we can pursue things that are external at the expense of what is necessary which are faith, hope, and charity that flow from a living relationship with God. 

During Lent, we are often presented with these temptations in many different ways. We can spend a lot of time trying to control people and situations to arrive at a pre-determined end. This causes us to become myopic and moved by our own viewpoint. Prayer allows us to see with God’s eyes and gain a broader vision.

We can also spend time trying to bend others to listen to our voices. We can end up just hearing the echo of our own voice. We need to enter silence so God can speak to our hearts.

We can then try to process all the information available to stay up to date. We read, listen and consume many sources so that we may fit in. Yet we may lose ourselves. We need to rest so that we can connect with God for our own good and the good of others. 

So this Lent we can become people of prayer who seek to see with the eyes of God, allow our hearts to beat in rhythm, and surrender each day to God’s guidance. All shall be well, and in all things, all shall be well.

How do we decide to love people?

 One of the realities in life is how to respond to people who dislike or hate us. We can often spend much of our energy trying to discover what it is that we have done that causes such enmity between us and them. I think that this may be wasted energy because the reasons may be more complex than we imagine. It may be that they remind us of someone who has hurt us or they may have actually caused us harm. They may hold viewpoints significantly different from our own or it may be as simple that they barrack for a different team than our own. However, it is often this ability to divide one against another which can influence how we react and how we will respond differently to the people we like and those we cannot stand.

Yet the Gospel speaks of loving our neighbour not because we agree with them but because they are created in the image and likeness of God. Thus we seek to love the person as God loves them. This can seem paradoxical but it is essentially at the heart of God's creative plan. We even see this in the Jewish law which says an eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth. This is not as it seems a call for vengeance but rather that we are not called to allow evil intentions to consume us in response to the harmful actions of another. Jesus takes this further to ensure that we do not allow our actions simply to react to the actions of another. We are called to consider not just our own good but the good of another. This is so counterintuitive that we often find a way of conditionally loving another rather than the agape love of God. This is why we ponder the crucifix so often as we seek to make sense of the radical love of God which is prepared to suffer and die for us so that we can find new life.

So this is what lies at the heart of the matter. It is not about finding the right argument or position that will convince another that we are right and they are wrong. Rather it is witnessing this radical love of God by giving the whole of ourselves to even the ungrateful and the unkind. This is indeed challenging but it lies at the heart of our consideration that each person is created as a temple of God and should be considered sacred. Thus when we work with others, especially those who oppose us we need to find ways that allow us to give thanks for the work of God within them. It calls us to be people who pray, reflect, and act in a way that is opening to the grace of God who bids us to the same radical love that guided Jesus to surrender everything for the love of us. God did not wait for us to become good but rather bid us to encounter the depth of this love even in situations where we are challenged in our relationships with others. Jesus makes this the principle and foundation of his life when he states we must love our neighbour as ourselves.

Choose Life not death

As we reflect over the last week we have witnessed scenes of life and death played out on our television screens. In reflecting on the tragedy that has occurred in Turkey and Syria one image that stays with me is the father holding the hand of his daughter who died under the rubble. This is a poignant scene of both deep grief and powerlessness. It probably captures our own imagination where we are both intimately present to the suffering of another but also holding it at a distance. It is where we can observe what is happening but question what impact this will have in our own life. It is so easy to notice especially when we approach anniversaries of past tragedies how easy it is to isolate ourselves from the concerns of others. To concentrate on our own backyard and our very real problems

I believe that these concerns can be played out in our spiritual life where we are called to choose life, not death. Ultimately it calls us to reflect on how we can be present to others in our daily life. We can at times seek to contain or direct the Holy Spirit within structures. I believe there is a natural instinct in which we try to box God’s voice into small bite-size pieces rather than provide a trellis in which that life can grow. Thus, any structure is not an end in itself but a support in which the life of God can grow. Without this support, it becomes a wild weed or thick undergrowth which trips people up rather than orientating them toward God. At times of difficulty, we need to be people who are able to rebuild the trellis on which a person’s life can be rebuilt.

In a similar way, we can seek to exert power and control over people rather than exercise authority for the good of others. This is important when we seek to contain our own uncertainties, fear, loneliness, regret, and despair when faced with situations that appear beyond our control. When we seek to be the guiding light we develop theories that become an echo chamber for our own opinion rather than a way of being present to a contemplative silence that embodies us for the good of others. When we seek to assert ourselves, we struggle to listen and be heard. Often what is called for is our ability to be people who walk alongside others as they seek to discover a deeper meaning for their lives.

Lastly, we can tend to mute the conversations into cliché of what others are saying. This is especially true when we seek to blame another for our own circumstances, or we seek to possess what belongs rightfully to another.  When we hear them speak, we switch off our hearts by parodying their voice by mimicking them with our own contempt. This is a place where we know that it does not befriend others or befriend ourselves. It seeks to alienate and isolate all that is fully human. Having lived through the tragedy of human conflict and the ways in which we can become trapped by a lifestyle that makes God into our own image and likeness. The call of our age is to listen once again to the voice of God which seeks us out so that we may become fully human and fully alive. To live Good News which witnesses to the life of God that is birthed within us.

Not mere words but a way of life

 In every age, we are called to shed light on the Gospel to our generation. Jesus talks about this as being the salt of the earth. This can often be seen as being grounded in the reality of daily life. We are called to be seen as Christians not just members of the club which excludes others. The mission of evangelism is not about a recruitment drive but as a witness to what is essential to every human life.

In St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he does not see this through the construct of the best argument or most convincing speech. Rather he talks about how to discuss the knowledge of the Crucified Christ who gives the best of himself for the good of the whole of creation. Our faith is demonstrated when our God prompts us to be people who witness to others in our lives. 

Isaiah says this is constructed in what we would name as Corporal Works of Mercy. We are called to share our bread with the hungry, shelter the homeless poor, clothe the person who is naked, and not the needs of those closest to us. This is contrasted with how we can tend to bind others with our own vision and with a polemical mindset that seeks to crush all opposed to us. Rather we seek to befriend those in greatest need with practical acts of charity that seek what is best for them not just what is good for us.