A Disciplined Lent

 

 

Scripture

Proverbs 10:16-17

 ¹⁶ The wages of the righteous are life.
The income of the wicked is sin.
¹⁷ One who heeds discipline is on the path of life,
but whoever ignores correction goes astray.  (Tree of Life Version)

 

Isaiah 58:1-2

58 “Cry aloud, do not hold back!
Raise your voice like a shofar.
Tell My people their transgression,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
² Yet they seek Me day to day
and delight to know My ways,
as if they were a nation that did right,
and had not forsaken their God’s decree.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”  (Tree of Life Version)

Reflection

The Season of Lent (the 6 weeks leading up to Easter) begins this week with Ash Wednesday.  While not all Christian traditions "celebrate" Lent, the ones that do mark it as a time to a a "Spring Cleaning" of sorts.  During Lent, we are called to notice the sinful things and practices that have built up in our lives--the things, in other words, that get in the way of loving God and one another.  Once we take stock of these things, we are called to take deliberate steps to metaphorically set them on the curb for removal by taking on disciplines that can help us overcome them.

Do we have a tendency not to listen to God's word or seekChrist's direction?  Then more prayer time, scripture reading, or silence may well be in order.  

Is there a particular sin that we keep committing?  Then we can make a choice to remove the things from our lives that tempts us to move in that direction or join with others who struggle to overcome the same thing...even as we pray for the Spirit's help in resisting temptation.

Do we find ourselves grasping too tightly to our time, money, and resources when Christ calls us to give of ourselves?  Then we can commit to giving more of ourselves by scheduling volunteer time at a certain group or deliberately setting a weekly money aside for a worthy cause.

Do we worry that we are not as present with or compassionate towards others as God calls us to be be?  Then we may deliberately choose to cut ourselves off from  TV, social media, or other things that tend to distract us.

Have we become disconnected from or too great a burden upon God's good Creation?  Then we may choose to lessen that burden by giving up meat, cutting down on waste, or spending a set amount of appreciating and tending to the world around us.

 All of these disciplines and more can help remove of what is sinful from our spiritual houses so that there is more room for Christ in our lives. The "trick" is to remember what we are giving up or taking on  isn't designed to help us reach worldly goals like losing weight or becoming more successful at work.  The purpose is to grow closer to Christ in thought, word, and deed.  To make room for the Holy Spirit to transform our lives so that we can better share in the joy of new life and new hope that is found not only on Easter morning...but in every day of the year.

Living into a "forever" commitment to certain changes can feel next to impossible to achieve.  Agreeing to 6 weeks worth of spiritual  housecleaning, though, is usually enough to present us with a challenge that feels attainable.  What's more, 6 weeks of discipline can help us establish habits that help keep us on the path of life and lead to long-term growth.

Throughout the coming Lenten Season, I will be posting a different spiritual discipline that can help us grow in faith, love, and service.  But as we prepare to journey with Jesus towards the cross, I encourage you to start out by thinking intentionally about how you may grow in Christ over the next 6 weeks:

The Discipline of Setting Intentions: 

Spent 5 minutes reflecting on your life.  As you do so, ask the Holy Spirit to help you respond as honestly as possible to the questions below (I have provided an example from my own Lenten Intention-Setting in italics): 

• What kind of clutter is getting in the way of my relationships with God and others?  Why it it a problem?
  

I have a habit of focusing on people's negative traits and mistakes instead of the good things about them.  When I do this, I refuse to acknowledge the light of God in them and set myself up to tear them down as their enemy instead of lifting them up as their sibling in Christ.

 

• What is a specific step that I could take to begin clear out that clutter over the next 6 weeks

Each time I say something negative about someone.  I can write  down two nice things about them in hopes of training myself to notice the blessings they are.

 

• How can God help me track my progress?

  

I can review my list and pray over it at the end of the day.  With  God's help, the list of people I need to repent for thinking badly of will get smaller and I will be more mindful of the good in people.

 

• When will I devote time for this...and how much will it take?

 

I can devote 10 minutes before bed to praying over my list. 

 

• How can I make this a reasonable and attainable goal?

 

Its hard to immediately write down people's good aspects if I am in the middle of something.  I can give myself up to 30 minutes to do so.  

 

After you have answered the questions, turn them into a brief, written Intention and post it somewhere you will see it often.

When I say something negative about someone, I will give myself half an hour to add them to a daily list of people I have spoken ill of and write two positive things about them.  I will spend 10 minutes before bed praying over my daily list .

 

 

Prayer

 Christ, bless my intentions to grow closer to you this Lent.  Give me the discipline to delight in your ways and walk the path of life.  Amen.