Lent: A Reflection for 2018
In the wake of the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, I’m struggling with so many things. I struggle with our nation unable to resolve the difficulties of gun violence and the continued loss of life which is alarming and deeply sad. I struggle with how we need to be vulnerable in order to step back and allow for creative and demonstrative decisions which are needed for us to end gun violence in our country.
I once wrote that “Sometimes life takes different and unexpected turns. The hope is that there are relationships that enable an individual to withstand the hardship, the pain, the emptiness or the loss of a loved one, friend, relationship or even a job.
Perhaps, the human heart is at its best when it’s vulnerable, when it’s open to others, when it’s less resistant, when it’s freer to embrace others and new situations which could be life-giving down the road. This isn’t an easy concept or pill to swallow.
During Lent, we see a Jesus who seems resolute and focused on Jerusalem, the City of David, and the city where prophets before him were killed. It is Jerusalem where Solomon built the First Temple and where that temple was destroyed and where the Second Temple would be destroyed not long after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is Jerusalem where Jesus was being drawn as he became more fully aware of what awaited him.
In the midst of Jesus’ seeming courage and strength, deep down Jesus must surely have sensed his own vulnerability, a sense that he could only withstand what awaited him because of being held up, caressed, intertwined and supported by a loving and tender God, his Father.
For Jesus’ disciples, the cross of Jesus was the symbol of dashed hopes and dreams. Jesus worked hard to enable sparks of faith to be ignited in them and in as many people as possible. The cross represented darkness, as they feared they had lost their teacher, their mentor and their friend.”
During Lent, perhaps we are being called to be ‘vulnerable’ in the sense of breaking down barriers which prevent us from being one with Jesus. Perhaps, we are being called to strip away those things which keep us from being more self-aware and reflective of our need to be in ‘right relationship’ with God in Jesus. Perhaps, we are being called into a deeper relationship of prayer in worship which is corporate prayer and in our own homes or elsewhere which is private prayer.
The beautiful Season of Lent calls each of us to examine one’s conscience, see one’s life for what it is, give thanks for those life-giving aspects of life and to ask for healing for those aspects of life which are not life-giving. Lent calls us into repentance and reconciliation. We are called to ask God for forgiveness for those “things we have done and those things we have left undone” and to seek reconciliation with God and our neighbor.
Lenten Prayer Cards are available on the Resource Tables of the Church to be placed at the Meditation Chapel during Lent. They are there as a way of writing down a prayer and asking God for healing and wholeness. If you are unable to be at Church and would like to have a prayer request recorded for you, please, let me know via email at
christianb@stmarksgr.org
or by calling me at 617.416.5014. I promise to record your request and to place it on the Altar.
If there is someone in your life with whom you wish to be reconciled, perhaps, this Season of Lent is the time to make that a reality. Ask God for strength and courage. Be vulnerable and move forward if that is possible for you.
If there is a former situation which cannot be reconciled for whatever reason, ask God for strength and courage for healing of mind and heart, so that you can move forward in life. The old adage of “Letting go and letting God” can bring healing in life. I believe the grace of God is there. We need to embrace it and make it work for us, especially during this Season of Lent.
May we have a Holy Lent and ask God to bring healing and wholeness to us and to our broken world so much in need. May God guide us during this Season in which we are called into deeper relationship with the man from Galilee who met people where they were in life, loved them, healed them and made them whole. I ‘believe’ that, and I pray that you ‘believe’ it as well.
God bless you!
+Christian
