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Greetings, SBT Readers:
How can we "do" Lent differently this year? In observance of this penitential season, most of us are accustomed to giving up something (chocolate, social media, shopping online, red meat, smoking, TV...) to make room for something deserving of more attention (prayer, devotional reading, volunteer work, exercise, spending more time with friends and family...) In other words, we empty ourselves and our schedules to make space for healthier activities and commitments. In some ways, Lent serves as a great excuse to re-launch the short-lived "self-improvement plan" to which we committed last New Year's Eve-- the perfect time to kick a bad habit or add a new spiritual practice. On the other hand, this approach reduces Lent to a utilitarian season, filled with action plans and measurable outcomes. What if there might be other options?
Suppose, just suppose, that we use Lent as a time for sacred listening, a time in which we not only attune ourselves to God's Voice but actually hear what God is communicating to us? Suppose that for 40 days we follow Jesus' example and leave behind the noise of everyday life, not by disappearing into the desert but by carving out some space for quiet and solitude? Suppose we reduce the meaningless chatter in our lives, the constantly streaming media, the endless jingle of advertisements? What might we hear? Might we finally hear what God has been trying to communicate for so very long? Could this be an opportunity to draw closer to the Beloved and to discover how very much we are loved?
We will only know if we dare enter the silence!
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to the Sunday Readings
"You have heard it said,
'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for God makes the sun rise on the bad and the good,
making rain fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward will you receive? Do not tax collectors do the same?
And if you only greet your brothers and sisters,
what is so unusual about that?
Do not nonbelievers do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Mt 5:38-48
There are different categories of "enemies" but all share one thing in common: they are "un-friends" as indicated by the Latin root, inimicus (in + amicus or friend). English doesn't distinguish between personal enemies, enemies in war, or adversaries of the particular groups to which we belong. Whether we are referring to someone who has deliberately damaged our property, or hostile forces, or Neo-Nazis, the term "enemy" establishes that they are no friends of ours-- in other words, they have no love towards us. Far from loving us, in fact, their intention is to harm us physically, mentally, emotionally -- perhaps even to exterminate us. When confronted by "un-friendly" acts, words and attitudes, the natural response is to want to pay back in kind-- or even to exceed the injury that we ourselves have suffered. This is where the wisdom of "An eye of an eye and a tooth for a tooth" comes in; Hammurabi's Code, recognizing the insatiable nature of revenge, limits injured parties from paying back more than they have received. If you have been blinded in one eye, then don't put out both your enemy's eyes; if you lost one tooth, then don't leave your enemy toothless! Punishment needs to be proportionate!
Jesus, however, holds up a different standard. We can only imagine the shock his disciples feel when he instructs them to love their enemies. What? Love the occupying Romans who have not only reduced the population to poverty through excessive taxation and other economic pressures, but who also enforce the cult of worshipping Caesar Augustus? Love those traitors who collaborate with Rome by collecting taxes on every aspect of Jewish life, thereby leading to debt, loss of property and the destruction of rural communities? Love those heathens "up north" -- the Samaritans-- whose theology and ritual practices barely resemble those of their neighbors to the south?And, in addition to the call to love enemies we share in common, what about having to love dangerous assailants, or legal plaintiffs who are demanding paltry possessions -- a coat, for example?
The commandment that Jesus holds up is nothing less than the requirement that we should love as God loves, that is, with mercy, compassion and forgiveness. This does not mean that we put ourselves in harm's way when our "enemy" continues to oppress us; rather, no matter how grievously our enemy has injured us, we need to let go of hatred and the desire for revenge. Nor is forgiveness incompatible with justice; in fact, we can seek restitution -- even punishment-- for our opponents without hating them. Love, you see, is not naive. It recognizes the evil that groups and individuals are capable of inflicting upon others; it anticipates passive aggressive behaviors and acts of sabotage. It knows when offenders have truly repented and when rapacious wolves are still masquerading as gentle sheep. It knows when it is safe to draw close to another and when, in the interest of self-love, it is best to remove oneself from that person's orbit. Yes, we can love from a distance and sometimes that is the only way to love.
Love is the antithesis of hate; the two cannot co-exist. When we allow hatred to infiltrate our hearts, we find that our capacity to love diminishes. At the same time, our obsession with our enemies can undermine our health, destroy our peace, block our creativity, and kill our joy. Hatred eats away at the soul, poisoning the well within, spreading toxicity, separating us from Divine Love. Lv 19:18-17 advises us to "Take no revenge and cherish no grudge." Building on this, Jesus instructs his disciples to be perfect in loving: "I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father" (Lk 5:44-45). And this, my friends, involves nothing less than to love with the heart of Christ...
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
* Who are some of the "enemies" that challenge your ability to love?
* What happens when you cling to negative feelings towards another person?
* If you have ever forgiven someone who wronged you deeply, what was that experience like for you?
* If you have ever wronged another person and experienced forgiveness, what was that like for you?
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PRAY
that sanity will prevail and that all those
suffering on account of the terrible conflict in Ukraine
will find the comfort and resources they need.
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GIFT CERTIFICATES
Thinking ahead to Lent?
Consider a Spiritual Direction or Life Coaching package, or else a customized retreat. Please contact me by email for further details! Thank you!
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