Lavish Grace Available.

I have seen T-shirts (but I haven’t got one) that proclaim, “You can take the bloke out of New Zealand but you cannot take New Zealand out of the bloke!” It seems that the Israelites could have worn similar T-shirts about Egypt. They grumbled their way through the wilderness, constantly wanting to be back in Egypt. No matter how much God is revealed, memories are always short. And it seems that a leader is only as good as the last miracle. It’s a story that we see repeated today in business, in education, in politics— and in the church. Leaders are expected to continuously improve on their previous performance— no matter how wonderful that performance— and people are not satisfied but are always upping the stakes. Still eyes rise heavenward as leaders ask, God, what am I to do with these people? It’s called scapegoating.

As long as people have someone to blame for all that is wrong, they are absolved of responsibility. If we can place all that seems wrong on the shoulders of leaders, then we ourselves don’t have to do anything to change. Yet it can be said that, that which causes suffering can also be the vehicle for healing, both internal and external. The snakes came upon the Hebrews in the wilderness as consequence of their turning away from God. The people suffered from them. Yet God used this same source of suffering to heal them. Every time they looked at the instrument of their suffering, they remembered the cause of their suffering. Their memories caused them to turn back to God. And because they turned back to God, they were healed. There are times on our Christian journey when we become aware of the ways we have sinned against God. We find ourselves suffering as we experience the normal consequences of self-absorbed choices.

At these times, it seems that our disobedience, that is to say, the ways we have turned away from or ignored God, are ever before us. Overcome by these imperfections, we often become ready to call out to God. God knows our tragic human flaws and loves us anyway. Thanks be to God that the very mistakes we’ve made, harm we have caused, and the harm done to us can become symbols of our healing. Every time we look at them, we remember the suffering resulting from our choices or of those we love; and we remember we can make a different choice this time and be healed. God’s nature, which is love, cannot resist expressing itself; God pours out abounding mercy and grace on us. During this season of introspection and reflection, it is good to both confess the ways in which we have turned away from God and to let go. In this way, we can receive the lavish grace and love of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, and we make choices that make us and others whole.

Remember though that Lent is not just about fasting and self-denial. It is an inward journey that can be very rewarding. I know God in two ways - through my own personal experience and through the community of His love, the Church. I experience the journey that the Church makes on its yearly pilgrimage to the Mystery of our faith, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again." I also experience the personal thirst and hunger that Lent beckons me to feel. Many times over this Lenten journey my prayer life has grown deeper.  So deep, in fact, that I am finding myself beginning to understand just a hint of what Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Teresa of Lisieux have written of the spiritual journey.

There has been a death this week in our faith community. It is a death that has forced me to think of the "dark night of the soul," about being immersed - in the darkness - in the immensity and the intimacy of God like a fish in the sea. It has made me reflect deeply on Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me...?" and on Isaiah 43, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine..."

Be not afraid. Fear not. Come follow me. Let me "know" you. Know me!

For a strengthening and deepening of your prayer life and your faith, start doing some regular disciplined reading of the Psalms. Soak yourself in them. Get to know, like David, the Shepherd who can be found in them.