Keeping Watch - Philip Berrigan

When this guy mentioned in the first paragraph that "Georgia winters are damp and cold," I knew we were going to get along.  For the most part cold is relative, but when you are out in it for hours on end, it becomes less so.  Cold is cold.  Throw in a heavy dose of "damp" and you've described our Appalachian Trail hike to a T.  After trekking down the mountain to Hiawassee in the rain, I could relate quite well to Berrigan's image of the grueling night of keeping watch, ever waiting for it to end.

The distinction between watching and waiting is the lesson I need to learn, however.  Waiting feels like my full time job - I'm always hoping to do it with more grace, always reminding myself that it's worth it (I even blogged about it for Advent).  But watching is a more active command, and a more cerebral one.  What can be learned from the world around me while I stand here and wait?  What warmth can I discover (or create) in this night to make it less bitingly cold?  Many of the things on Berrigan's list of things to watch made me smile - watch nuclearism, watch war, watch refugees, watch corporations - "become a student of systemic evil."  Check!  Anyone who follows my Facebook knows that I love to rant about all kinds of systemic evil.  Perhaps it is one of my spiritual gifts.  It's the other kind of watching I need to work on though:

Watch the words of others, since God often speaks to us through sisters and brothers.  Watch for conformity between words and deeds, and when the two are the same, watch only their deeds.  Watch for heroic women and men who give their lives tending victims - the bombed, starved, raped, tortured - and to exposing the victimizers from within prison and without.  Watch the hope that they give you by the speech of their lives, and then dare to extend hope to others. (73)

I need to reopen my eyes to hope.  Once upon a time, I was an optimist.  I need to look hard for the heroes, and the success stories, and the beautiful moments.  And yes, I mean look hard, because these are not the front page stories.  They're not always as fun to share as a quality Facebook rant, either.  But I do know they are more fun to hear, and I know it is these things around which I want to shape my life, not their negative counterparts.  My task for this Lent is to keep my eyes peeled for evidence of Christ in the world - evidence that we are not alone and that this story has a happy ending.  The Master may return at any moment, and when he comes, I don't want to be too caught up in my criticisms of coal-fired power plants and Republican budget bills that I don't notice the Healer has already arrived.

A Look Inside - Edna Hong

The purpose of Lent is to arouse. (p. 24)

Ha!  How often do you hear that phrase in a sermon?!?  Not only did it catch my attention to read the word "arouse" in a Christian devotional, but this understanding of Lent hit home for me as well.  There's just something uninviting about thinking about death and denial for forty days...something that drives you to crave indulgence even more than you might during the rest of the year (like the guy from Iowa who gave up sobriety for Lent).  But arousal - that seems like something Christ would want from us.  Arousal of the Life Abundant.  For me, it has never been the knowledge of sin that has driven me to Christ, but the reverse.  The desire for something more - for something good and perfect and whole and in control - is what points me to the divine, and then this God of Love and Truth and Justice reminds me that I have oh-so-far to go to measure up - both to Him/Herself and to the person I was created to be.

I think I have also struggled with the traditional concept of Lenten sacrifice because it doesn't do much to shake the foundations of my biggest sins - the sins of omission and non-action.  I am lazy, and I have more of a tendency to under-do the good rather than overdo the bad.  As the Robert Herrick poem in this chapter points out, "Tis a fast to dole thy sheaf of wheat and meat with the hungry soul."  Rather than starving myself, how can I keep others from going hungry?  I mean this in both a literal and a spiritual sense...how can I awaken myself and others to the knowledge of God's limitless grace this Lent?  I am convinced that if sin is about "missing the mark"(its literal meaning in Greek), then Lent should be about finding that bulls-eye once again.  And as with any task set before us by God, this one is not ours to tackle alone.  We must arouse ourselves - open our eyes, raise our bow, focus our attention - but the Lord will be with us throughout our attempt, standing behind us, guiding our stance and telling us exactly when to release the arrow.

Let's hope I do better this time than I did in archery at the Wii Resort!

Resurrecting this Blog

(Pun intended.)

We're back for a second attempt in 2011!  The calendar has been updated, and hopefully this year we can make it all the way to Easter!  I think the best tactic (or at least the one I'm going to use) is to read the chapter number that corresponds to the day of Lent, whether that means skipping chapters or not.  Last year the feeling of having to play catch-up every time I missed a day was what killed all motivation in the end.  And we all know Lenten disciplines are hard enough without the extra burden of snowballing over time!  We can always go back and read chapters we've missed after reading about how wonderful they are from our friends' posts on this blog, too.

For anyone who's looking for other Lenten disciplines to try, there is a nice list that I recommend on Restoring Eden's website called 11 Ideas for Lent '11.

Thank you for joining us, and remember to contact me (Devon) if you would like to be added to our list of bloggers!