Lenten E Retreat

Let’s begin our reflections with a very well-known passage of Scripture, one that is known almost universally,
the 23rd Psalm. Here’s the translation of that Psalm from the Book of Common Prayer:

He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;

How many times have we heard this psalm, and on what occasions? When I was a hospice chaplain, many of my patients wanted to have this psalm read to them. In the nearly 14 years that I’ve been in ministry, this psalm has been chosen by many people for their funerals. That notion of being accompanied “through the valley of the shadow of death” brings us comfort and peace. However, this Psalm is also very much about living, about how we interact with others, and about that call to right relationship with God and neighbor. Read the Psalm again, slowly and prayerfully. You may want to reflect on these questions:

*Who or what is my “shepherd”? Who/what leads and guides me in decisions, actions, and beliefs?

*The Good Shepherd in this Psalm leads the psalmist to green pastures, and “still waters”. How has God brought you to places of comfort and serenity?

*The Lord “revives” the soul of the psalmist. In what ways do you need to be “revived” at this time in your life?

“If what most people take for granted were really true—if all you needed to be happy was to grab everything and see everything and investigate every experience and then talk about it, I should have been a very happy person, a spiritual millionaire, from the cradle even until now…What a strange thing! In filling myself, I had emptied myself. In grasping things, I had lost everything. In devouring pleasures and joys, I had found distress and anguish and fear.”

What happens when we begin to realize that the empty place inside of us is created for the purpose of lifting that incompleteness to the God of love who desires to fill us and make us whole? As the old and not very good song stipulates, at times we can find we’ve been “looking for love in all the wrong places.” When we come to the realization that we’ve been searching in the wrong places for the right thing, we are invited to make a change, to take a different road, to choose a new way.

Sometimes the choice is one we make from the vantage point of careful thought and reflection. At other times, the events and circumstances of our lives can bring us to the painful realization that we’ve been searching for life in places of death. This can happen in very obvious, life-changing ways, such as Merton’s realization in the book quoted above that, for him, the call to focus on what really matters included a call to living his faith in a monastic community. It can come about when we are called to walk a new and different path.

These opportunities for conversion also present themselves to us each and every day, in the ways we interact with others, the values we live, the way we use our resources, the love we share or do not share with family and friends.

Part of the gift and invitation of Lent is to look carefully at who and what we grasp in our search for happiness, joy, and wholeness. May God give us the grace to look at this aspect of our lives and faith.

*How does being a part of a faith community help you to focus on what is real, on what matters?

*Who, in your life, has been an example of someone who grasps what is real and holy and good?

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in turn be measured out to you.” Luke 6:37,38

In Luke’s gospel, these words are spoken by Jesus after he has preached the “sermon on the plain” (Luke’s version of the beatitudes) and given to those who hear him the hard teachings about forgiveness of others, turning the other cheek, and love of enemies.

That’s one thing I’ve always liked and been challenged by in Luke’s gospel: it is clearly one of Luke’s missions to bring the teachings, power, and ministry of Jesus to the social issues, concerns, and relationships of his time and ours. Social justice and the dictates of the radical hospitality of the kingdom of God are foremost for Luke, along with a very pressing emphasis on care for and love of God’s anawim (In Hebrew: the lost, forsaken, poor, and powerless).

During Lent, one of the disciplines that the Church invites us to embrace is to share with those in need. We do this not only out of a sense of kindness and concern for the recipients of our giving (although that is important), but we also do so out of a sense of justice and stewardship. God has blessed us, and so we in turn are called to bless others, with our time, our talent, and our treasure.

*How might the crowd have reacted when Jesus spoke these words? How do you react to this teaching of Christ?

*How has my experience of giving shown Jesus’ words above to be true? That is, how have I been blessed in giving to others of myself, my resources?

When Every Hope Has Been Explored

“It is precisely when every earthly hope has been explored and found wanting, when every possibility of help from earthly sources has been sought and is not forthcoming, when every recourse this world offers, moral as well as material, has been drawn on and expended with no effect, when in the shivering cold every stick of wood has been thrown on the fire, and in the gathering darkness every glimmer of light has finally flickered out—it is then that Christ’s hand reaches out, sure and firm, that Christ’s words bring their inexpressible comfort, that his light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness for ever.” Malcolm Muggeridge

Lent is, in part, about coming to terms with the fact of our own incompleteness. This can be a sobering reality. However, it’s really about liberation and freedom. In the gospels, Jesus is forever inviting people to see beyond what they think is the case – who can be forgiven, where the kingdom of God is found and in whom that kingdom is made manifest, the power of God’s mercy, and even God’s glory shining in those broken in mind, body, and spirit.

For those of us who work a 12-Step Recovery Program, we admit things like powerlessness, defeat, and our need for a Savior, and it is upon that bedrock that new lives are built. St. Paul understood this when he wrote, “In weakness is power made perfect.” He was writing about the transformative power of Christ’s love.

*Have “earthly hopes” been extinguished in my life? Who or what do I put above the power of God?

*Have I experienced that sense of incompleteness? Is that a positive or a negative for me?

*Into what area of weakness can I invite the power of Christ? Where do I need to welcome him to be more fully my Lord and Savior?

“Long ago, Plotinus wrote, ‘If we are in unity with the Spirit, we are in unity with each other, and so we are all one.’… When I have lost harmony with another, my whole life in thrown out of tune. God tends to be remote and far away when a desert and sea appear between me and another. I draw close to God as I draw close to my fellows. The great incentive remains ever alert; I cannot be at peace without God, and I cannot be truly aware of God if I am not at peace with my fellows. For the sake of my unity with God, I keep working on my relations with my fellows. This is ever the insistence of all ethical religions.” -Howard Thurman

Lent is, in part, a call to right relationship: with God, with others, and within myself. God makes it clear many times throughout the Old and New Testaments that we are made to be in relationship with one another, and that is part of the way that we will find our salvation – in and through relationships with those around us.

Family, friends, those who are on the fringes, and those we call ‘enemy’ – all are to be dealt with, in some fashion, in a way that gives glory to God.

Thurman writes above that his sense of harmony is thrown off balance when he has experienced that loss of harmony with another person.

Take some time and write down the names of the important, significant, sustaining relationships in your life. As you read the list, prayerfully lift up each person to the Lord, asking God to bless, nurture, and sustain that person. Ask yourself, “Is this a relationship marked by harmony and mutual love and respect?” Perhaps you will be led to seek or offer forgiveness. Perhaps this will simply be a time of gratefully offering God thanks for those that He has put in your life.

Biblical experts tell us that this Psalm was written from the perspective of the people of Israel making their way to Jerusalem on a religious pilgrimage. For the people of Israel, the Temple in Jerusalem was the holiest place on earth. It was, literally, the dwelling place of the Lord. Pilgrims were often at risk from robbers, were at the mercy of the weather and climate, and had to make considerable sacrifices in order to go to worship God and make an offering to Him.

For the people of Israel, the Temple was the one place where they could directly offer sacrifice to God. It was the place where the Ark of the Covenant was housed – the symbolic, tangible presence of God’s promise and covenant with the people of Israel. For a Jew living during the time of Christ, going to the Temple and praying there was also a way to experience the hope and strength that God gave to His people during the harsh occupation imposed by the Roman Empire. In the midst of that oppression, the Temple stood as a reminder that God’s promise to make of the people of Israel a great nation was not lost. All of that, and so much more, were wrapped up in this pilgrimage – a place to experience transcendence, holiness, and to given the dignity that comes from faith and hope.

Frequently in the gospels, Jesus is described as entering a synagogue. While the temple was the one place that Jews could sacrifice and was considered the dwelling place of the Lord, synagogues were smaller “chapels” of sorts, where Jews gathered locally to hear God’s word and worship together.

During Lent, our Christian community is called to pay greater attention to prayer, communal and individual. We are to seek “the dwelling places” of God in the midst of our own life experiences. Where do you find God’s “dwelling places”? In what place(s), relationships, and at what times are you aware of being in the “dwelling place” of God?

Spend some quiet time reflecting on where you have found and were you currently find God’s “dwelling places”. Do you make time to go to God’s dwelling places?

“Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to another? God is holy and sinless; God is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience. But another person is as sinful as we are. The other knows from experience the dark night of secret sin. Why should we not find it easier to go to another than to the holy God? But if we do, we must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution. And is not the reason perhaps for our countless relapses and the feebleness of our Christian obedience to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not a real forgiveness? Self-forgiveness can never lead to a breach with sin; this can be accomplished only by the judging and pardoning of the Word of God itself.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, quoted above, was not a man to mince words. He was a Lutheran pastor during the rise and prominence of the Third Reich. His absolute refusal to accept the evils of Nazism led him to lead the “Confessing Churches” movement, a group of congregations and ministers that refused cooperation with the Nazi state. His resistance led to his imprisonment and ultimately to his death. Many of Bonhoeffer’s writings come to us from his time in prison. He was able to maintain a faith, strength, and conviction that was truly inspiring. His reflection above is one that invites special reflection, especially during Lent.

Why is it so difficult to confess our sins, our shortcomings, to another? The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous include this practice for those seeking a life of recovery from addiction. It is seen in Steps 4 and 5:

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

AA is quite clear: those who refuse to take steps 4 and 5 will most often relapse. Why? There seems to be something both humbling and liberating in the practice of frankly sharing with another the areas of our lives where we have sinned.

Lent is, among other things, a call to right relationship, with God and with our neighbor. It is one thing to mentally review our need for forgiveness with God in prayer. The tendency can be to go one of two directions: either we continually dredge up the hurt we caused and refuse forgiveness, kind of a pride in reverse. Or, we too easily gloss over that which we caused and do not allow ourselves to feel the full effects. Talking over our sin with someone “with skin” (a person) challenges us to see ourselves as human and accept God’s forgiveness. It also calls us to own our sin in order to receive, once again, God’s love. As the old monk told me one time when I was on retreat, “You painted it. You might as well sign it.”

God is good, and loving, and forgiving. Where do you need to ask for forgiveness? For what are you sorry? Have you had a hard time forgiving yourself for something? Do you need to share this with another person? Why or why not?

“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens; they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life span? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not eat or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown in the fire tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, you of little faith? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat or what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach or moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.’” - Luke 12:22-34 (RSV)

-What must it have been like for his disciples to hear him talking this way? What were they thinking about?

-What is your reaction to these words of Jesus? Do they make you comfortable? Uncomfortable? Do you believe and trust what he’s saying?

-Can you think of a time when you put a worry, concern, or problem into God’s hands? What was the result?

-Is there a person, situation, or relationship that God might be inviting you to turn over to Him at this time?

-As you ponder what you worry about, what makes you most concerned and anxious, you might also try using this prayer:

“What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not!’, but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir!’, but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will? They answered, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John the Baptist came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but many of the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet, even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.’ ” (Matthew 21:28-32)

-Who has been on the receiving end (wittingly or unwittingly) of any gossip or malicious words from me?

-Do I try to see others, and to I try to see myself, with God’s perspective of love and mercy?

-Am I joyful or cynical when someone seeks to put their life back together with the help of God?

As the days of Lent draw to a close, we continue to reflect on our faith and our relationships with God, our neighbors, and the presence of God within. In his book, Crossing the Desert, Robert Wicks identifies four questions that will help us as we examine these relationships.

He draws on the writings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The Desert Fathers and Mothers (Abbas and Ammas) were Christians who, in the fourth century and early fifth century, made their way from society and went into the desert and wilderness to find there solitude in order to devote themselves to prayer. As time went on, word got out about these radical solitaries, and communities began to form around them because of the wisdom and insight they were able to share with seekers. It became a well known practice to seek out an Abba or Amma and ask for “a word”. This was really an early form of spiritual direction.

Over time, some of the Abbas and Ammas were brought back into society, many times against their wills, so that they could lead and guide others to Christ.

In trying to distill some of the “words” the Abbas and Ammas shared with seekers, Robert Wicks, in his book, Crossing the Desert, has focused in on four questions that many of the seekers were given to wrestle with when they asked for “a word”.

I invite you to take some prayer time and reflect on these questions, allowing God to help you to take a look at the relationships and priorities in your life right now, today.

It has been a joy to share some e-reflections with you all during this Season of Lent. Yesterday was Palm Sunday and today we are beginning Holy Week. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of this week we will celebrate the Sacred Triduum. "Triduum" is Latin for "the Three Days". These days are like one long liturgy. In fact, after the Maundy Thursday service, we are not dismissed as we are during a regular Eucharist. Rather, we do not hear "Go in the peace of Christ" until the end of the vigil on Holy Saturday. I encourage you to enter as fully are you are able into the beautiful stories and events that these days recall. It comes down to God's passionate love for humanity, and His desire, based on that love, to give us the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.

We have been looking, during Lent and in these e-retreats, at the ways we love or do not love. We've reflected on the call to reconciliation, and we've prayed about and for those we may have hurt, and those who have hurt us. It is of utmost importance that we remember at all times that at the base of all we have looked at during Lent, undergirding the call to be reconciled, whole, and free, is simply the love of God. This love is the kind that transforms hearts and lives. It is the love that calls us to what St. Paul called kenosis, to be emptied, so that we can be more and more filled with the peace of Christ. It is, in the end, a very practical search - to find out why we're here, what makes life worth living, what these lives of ours are for in the first place, and what we are invited to do in response.

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, who you send your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." -Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

May God bless you with peace and grace during these days of Holy Week, and may Easter bring you in abundance the gift of new life!

Lenten E Retreat

The 23rd Psalm

Back to Top

When Every Hope Has Been Explored

The Reverend Scott Leannah
Copyright © 2007 [St. Mary's Episcopal Church]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 04/05/07.

Lenten E Retreat

The 23rd Psalm

Back to Top

When Every Hope Has Been Explored

The Reverend Scott Leannah Copyright © 2007 [St. Mary's Episcopal Church]. All rights reserved. Revised: 04/05/07.

The Reverend Scott Leannah
Copyright © 2007 [St. Mary's Episcopal Church]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 04/05/07.