Lenten Thoughts

 

Preparation is an important concept in the ever-changing story of our lives. People prepare for all sorts of occasions — some small and some big.

 

I, and others, have said many times “don’t be so focused on the destination that the journey is not appreciated and enjoyed.” Preparation is a large part of any journey. If I think back over my life journey, the time I have spent in preparation is quite a significant chunk. Preparation for going to college, preparation for getting married, preparation for each new child welcomed, preparation for changes in career, preparation for guests coming to stay, preparation for travelling, preparation for dinner each night — the list could go on and on. 

 

In today’s lectionary reading Jesus was on the brink of a change of career. Jesus is about to start ministry and feels compelled to take some time to prepare for it. In Mark’s version the story is minimal. The gospel merely states, “And the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (Mark 1:12-13).

 

 Jesus took a few weeks of time to be alone to prepare for the momentous time ahead. The story does not give much detail about the wilderness location. In the past, I have talked about the possibility that when the gospel tells us that John the Baptizer came from the wilderness, he had been sent to be educated and trained by the Essene community located there. Maybe, it was to an Essene community that Jesus was driven for this time of preparation. It always puts me in mind of the quotation which is one of meditations in the Way of Living, (p. 390). “In Scetis, a brother went to see Abba Moses and begged him for a word. And the old man said: Go and sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” (in Thomas Merton)

 

I like to think that Jesus time of preparation in the wilderness was a rich experience. It was the very foundation — the bedrock— of his ministry. Jesus took time alone to prepare but was tended by angels, and by non-human friends.

 

It is so often the negative aspects of this passage and this season of Lent that are focused on — self-denial and deprivation. I think it is a mistake to make that the focus. In “Christian-speak”, which I dislike, a wilderness experience is often used to denote something bad in one’s life. 

 

What do I mean by Christian-speak — a particular phrase or turn of speech that would only have meaning to those in the “club”. In certain circles it can become like a secret language, like a sign that one is an “insider”.  Such a horrible concept —insiders and outsiders. I constantly have to watch my language to ensure I don’t fall into the trap of Christian-speak.

 

Personally, I don’t think that being ill, or being financially challenged or being lonely or facing a crisis can be attributed to the passage today. They are indeed situations which many will have experienced. However, if such things are equated to this so-called “wilderness experience” then we would have to say that all the poor, all the chronically sick people, all the people who have been lonely for years are spending their whole lives in the wilderness if the gospel is interpreted that way.  People experiencing this sort of hardship may feel they are struggling constantly, but it cannot necessarily be claimed as a God-ordained spiritual experience.

 

I much prefer to think of the positive aspects of this passage, this Lent, which, in the cycle of the church’s calendar, is denoted as a time of preparation. 

 

Maybe the question people ask each other shouldn’t be “what are you giving up for Lent?”  but instead ask “what are you preparing for this Lent?”

 

It is an important question. The church’s cycle has given us these next few weeks to live it. Maybe preparation is towards a deepening spiritual journey. 

Maybe it is for a preparation for baptism or ordination. 

Maybe it is for a big change in life. 

Maybe it is for peace and strength in one’s life. 

Or maybe, it is simply to take time to reflect on the ever-present cycle of life and death and life and death and life

 

My hope is that Lent will be a positive experience this year for all who undertake the journey. My hope is that as each person takes time for preparation they will experience being comforted by non-human friends and tended to by angels — in whatever form that takes.

A Wise Word

Sometimes I read the lectionary passages and feel that they are quite concerning. Often, they express ideas which are hard to stomach. Today, was a little different, all four readings were quite uplifting — they are talking about beginnings. 

 

I could spend this whole blog talking about beginnings. As I write I am looking out of my window at large amounts of untrodden snow waiting for someone to plant a footprint into it. I get the same feeling when camping at the ocean and go to the beach early in the morning — the newly washed sand is just waiting for the first footprints.

 

These images always speak to me of beginnings — a new start, a path as yet untrodden, anticipation and expectation. Life is full of new beginnings, challenges waiting to be undertaken. Every stage of life, every day is a new beginning. I hope I use all my new beginnings with wisdom and grace.

 

But even as these pleasant and uplifting thoughts were swirling around my head, I couldn’t get away from two words, Wisdom (Chokmah/Sophia) and Word (Logos).

 

In the Old Testament reading about the beginning (Proverbs 8: 1, 22-31) Wisdom is in the beginning with God. Wisdom exists pre-creation, “before the beginning of the earth”. In Gospel (John 1:1-14) it is the Word who was “in the beginning with God”.

 

Did the feminine Wisdom of the Old Testament become the masculine Word of the Gospel? 

 

I think the author of the Gospel was linking Divine Wisdom with the Word. Always worth remembering that the gospels were written many years after Jesus’ death and, in some sense, were offering proof of who Jesus was. Therefore, the connection and language of the Johannine account of the beginning would have been very powerful to the readers of the day. 

 

Here I will pause and recommend a book on the subject Jesus, Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet by Elisabeth Schusser Fiorenza for any who want to delve deeper into this subject. 

 

Fiorenza writes, “It is debated whether according to the Fourth Gospel Jesus is Wisdom Incarnate or whether he replaces her. The narrative characterization of Jesus speaks for the first” (152).

 

I find the subject intriguing. It raises a lot of questions for me about the interplay between Wisdom and Word. I find it an expansive view. In an attempt to uphold a patriarchal understanding of Scripture. Sophia, Wisdom has not been given the prominent place she deserves. 

 

I am glad that the lectionary this morning acknowledges the place of Sophia in creation — it goes a little way towards redressing the gender balance.