Space for God: February 25.Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 The six Sundays of Lent Lent [Old Eng. lencten,=spring], Latin Quadragesima (meaning 40; thus the 40 days of Lent). In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for or recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter. begin with Jesus' 40-day sojourn of fasting and temptation in the desert wilderness wilderness, land retaining its primeval character with the imprint of humans minimal or unnoticeable. In the United States, the Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System with a nucleus of 9 million acres (3. (Luke 4:1-13). Any time we fast, our bodies go through a purification purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision), and fire. process. This is part of the reason that for centuries people have committed themselves to fasting. Fasting combines denial and purification in a way that opens up a space inside of us. It is a space where desire is clarified because our body is able to tell us what we need to survive. It is a space of prayer, and prayer, singer Marian Anderson once observed, "begins where human capacity ends." But fasting that becomes disordered distorts our reality. When this happens, prayer (listening to God) gives way to temptation and self-deception. How many times have we given up a food-related item for Lent, convincing ourselves that this year we're giving up dessert for the "right" reason rather than because we secretly want to shed a few pounds? Walking with Jesus into the wilderness is an invitation to come face to face with misery. It involves traveling the wilderness route of the Trail of Tears Trail of Tears Forced migration of the Cherokee Indians in 1838–39. In 1835, when gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia, a small minority of Cherokee ceded all tribal land east of the Mississippi for $5 million. The U.S. , heading through a deep forest wilderness on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad, in U.S. history, loosely organized system for helping fugitive slaves escape to Canada or to areas of safety in free states. It was run by local groups of Northern abolitionists, both white and free blacks. , and limping through the scorching scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. wilderness of the Sonora Desert. What we give up on this journey ought to give us the space to rely on God and God's intention for our common life. Jesus teaches us that the pure in heart see God. May that be so for us this month. |
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