Lent Meditation Day 1
When I started practicing Lent as a new Episcopalian four years ago, I saw it as a time of fasting from stuff.
A Note from Ruth
These meditations are a reflection of my personal journey through Lent at a time when I was experiencing deep spiritual growth and learning what it means to grow in community as a student at the Academy for Formation and Mission. In part, I wrote them to process my own thoughts, but mainly to share those contemplations, because I felt they were meant to be experienced by others. My hope was to encourage others to go deep, to see God and Lent with a new perspective, and to self-reflect in a way that brings hope.
I chose to give up sugar, which I have done every year since. This is not an easy thing because I am crazy about candy and it is so readily available, especially right before Easter!
But when I put it into perspective, it really is not that hard to choose healthy foods instead of sugary ones. I wonder this…am I more aware of Christ’s suffering because of my “fast”? And also this…what does it mean to surrender my soul?
I know that fasting from things like media or certain foods can help us put our attention on Christ, but I think I need a deeper shift in focus. Jesus lived a life of love, preaching a message that turned the world upside down in his place and time, and lead to his crucifixion. When I give Jesus my soul, I am saying yes to his message, yes to radical hospitality, inclusion, forgiveness, and caring for the needs of others. I am saying yes to the healing of relationships even when it is hard. I am choosing to look at how I live in the world.
This can feel like a cross to bear because all of creation is made in God’s image. The hungry, the lonely, the addict, the racist, the hateful, the beautiful, all. I must remind myself of this: I do not need to understand someone or agree with them to believe that God loves them.
And I do not need to be perfect to know that God loves me. I will sometimes judge the judgmental, perhaps more than I care to admit. Jesus does not give up on me, but continues to lead me into the Kingdom of God, and because of that, I can give him my heart. What more is there to give this Lenten season?