Lent again until there isn’t
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done… There is still time before the world ends. Until there isn’t. In our lives we will run out of time.
[Time] slips away / And all your money won't another minute buy sings Kansas in “Dust in the Wind.”
As Lent comes upon us, I am moved to reflect upon a couple of paradoxes of human existence. Our Soul is the great consciousness we seem to be unconscious of. Our mortal body, which houses the eternal soul temporarily, seems to lead us to seek life in an earthbound direction. Paradoxically, this earthly physical life is sure to end in the decay of death which the ashes of Ash Wednesday symbolize.
This Lent is an opportunity to seek the wisdom of the Good News of Christ’s Gospel. We can make a conscious choice to use our cerebral powers to reflect on our Spirit filled lives. This will be a conscious effort to counterbalance our sinful acts and sinful nature, which usually involve little reflection on our part.
Henri Nouwen speaks of the direction of our earthly lives as tempting us in an upward mobility towards success, wealth, position, and recognition. The true follower of Christ moves in a downward mobility. The way of the cross is one of humility, failure in the eyes of the world, and emptying oneself to grow in conformity with God’s will.
Many churches have baptismal preparation during Lent and celebrate the newness of life with baptism at Easter Vigil. That is a good focus for us all. Married couples renew their vows at twenty-five years or fifty years. We need to renew our baptismal vows with the same enthusiasm.
What’s in it for me? Why renew baptismal vows? If I die tonight, how good the baptismal gifts will seem to me then! Rooted in Christ we can grow spiritually. He is the vine; we are the branches.
At baptism many of us had sponsors who spoke for us and accepted the end of sin and the beginning of grace. The Holy Spirit came along more fully later at Confirmation. Our sponsors chose a path for us to walk with the Lord.
It is great to reconnect with our sponsors now as we celebrate the mysteries of baptism. Maybe our sponsors have gone ahead of us in the Communion of Saints. All the better. They intercede for us and will be there to greet us when we leave this life on earth.
Among the gifts of baptism, the oil of catechumens is used to help ward off evil, avoid temptation and give us faith to carry the cross of Christ throughout our lives. The oil of Chrism comes with Confirmation and symbolizes strength.
Holy Week reminds us what the world was like before the sacrifice of Christ. Christ descended into hell, the netherworld, to bring life and resurrection to faithful departed souls, some of whom appeared in the days following the resurrection. Now, through our baptism, we are like tall strong trees because we have been buried, or planted, into Christ’s own death and resurrection.
How do we best prepare for Easter? Isaiah gives us the real challenge of fasting in Lent. We should pursue releasing those bound unjustly, sharing our food, sheltering the homeless and clothing the naked. Our fasting is in solidarity with the poor and oppressed. Our hunger should be for justice. Our Easter proclamation should be the good news of salvation to all.
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