“We are born knowing how to cry, but it takes another to teach us how to cry well and with purpose” “Your wails are meant to be heard” (This Here Flesh , Cole Arthur Riley, 106)
When I read this in Cole Arthur Riley’s inspirational book over the weekend two images came to mind. One was of the Jews praying at the Wailing wall in Jerusalem, particularly this photo which has been circulating around Facebook over the last week. The second image was of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane just before his betrayal.
It suddenly hit me – Jesus prayed tears of blood. That is pretty forceful weeping, and I imagine that just like at the Wailing Wall, his prayers were not silent but loud with wailing and deep emotion as he howled in pain and sorrow. He wept with the pain of a tortured soul crying out to God. Not, I suspect, because he was afraid to face the agony of the sacrifice he knew was coming, but because he did not want it to be necessary. He wept out of love for a world that he knew was meant to be good and beautiful and loving and yet was so badly broken that it required the sacrifice of God to bring it healing and wholeness.
As Jesus begins this last agonizing journey of lament, I can see him crying tears of agony for the people of Ukraine, and Myanmar, of Sudan and Ethiopia and Afghanistan. I can see him crying for every despised and abused Black person, and LGBTQIA person, so many places and people that still call for his deep soul-wrenching lament of blood-like tears. I also see him crying for the earth that groans under the weight of pollution and destruction, weeping tears of blood for us who are meant to be loving and caring and yet are not.
Then I am hit again. How could the disciples sleep through that kind of praying? How could they not be out there praying and weeping blood like tears with Jesus, consumed like he was by the horrors of the brokenness and suffering of the world around them? Perhaps, they stayed awake for a short while, boosted by the adrenaline of the exciting Passover meal they had just enjoyed. But they were really looking for a king very much like the Roman emperor. A God who wailed and howled and wept at the extent of pain and suffering in the world just put them to sleep.
Would we sleep through that kind of praying too? It seems to me we do that every time we turn our backs on someone who is suffering and in pain, and every time we are indifferent to the growing pollution and impact of climate change around us. “Their wails are meant to be heard.” And yet we like the disciples seem so often to be asleep.
I can’t believe it has taken me almost 50 years of following Jesus to recognize not just the incredible agony of Jesus weeping in the garden but also its reason. And I cannot believe it has taken me just as long to recognize myself in the sleeping disciples. The significance of Jesus weeping in the garden of Gethsemane should be just as important to us as his crucifixion and resurrection are. His disappointment at our inability to stay awake with him is so vivid. Why can’t my followers enter into the pain and suffering of this world as much as I do he seems to be saying. Why don’t they have the depth of courage and the same passion of their convictions I do.?
Next Sunday is Palm Sunday, and we all see ourselves shouting Hosanna and waving palm fronds as we rejoice with Jesus and his triumphant procession into Jerusalem. But it is not long before the atmosphere changes and many of us are no longer shouting Hosanna to the king, but “crucify him,” and I wonder if our indifference to the depth of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane and its importance for the new world God is giving birth to is the place that we lose him. We have such short attention spans, especially when it comes to pain and suffering. We want to join Jesus in his joy filled moments but not accept the pathway of pain that we often must pass through to find that joy.
So what can we do to wake ourselves up?
First we need to join Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and face up to the depth of pain God experiences every single day because of the suffering of our world.
Second we need to commit to staying awake to the suffering around us. Not just for a few moments but every day, all day. Sometimes we fall asleep because we deliberately close our eyes to pain and suffering and I am concerned that when another tragedy catches our attention we will forget about Ukraine and all the other suffering places in our world. Yet this is the God we follow and through the example of Jesus, we are shown exactly how radical following this God is.
Third we need to walk together with those who are already on this pathway as well as those who are struggling to stay awake. The older I get, the more upset I become about the injustice and pain in our world and the more I want to make a difference – even if it is only through writing and challenging others to walk with me. I thank God every day for the diversity of voices that are rising around me – for the Black and Hispanic and Indigenous voices. For the LGBTQIA persons, and the growing number of eco theologians and Christian environmentalists.
So as you get ready for Holy Week, I pray that you too will be prepared to stay awake with Jesus in the garden and fill yourself with the same passion he has for those suffering in our world.
Journey through Lent with this downloadable bundle featuring Prayer Cards, 40 Daily Ideas Guide for Lent, and our Lenten devotional – A Journey Into Wholeness: Soul Travel from Lent to Easter. Bundled together for convenience and savings!
I am delighted that after a short break St Andrews is once again recording these beautiful contemplative services. Enjoy!
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“In the Lord ” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Rabboni Beloved” By Kester Limner and Andy Myers, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Seek Ye First” By Karen Lafferty
Copyright 1972 Maranatha! Music
“O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” Public domain hymn, arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
Thank you for praying with us! www.saintandrewsseattle.org
by Brenda Griffin Warren Photo by G Freihalter: Abbess Burgundofara with her crozier representing the leadership of her Monastery and Abbey. Stained Glass at Eglise Saint Sulpice à la Celle-Sur-Morin.
As female followers of Christ, some have been taught that women are to be submissive and quiet. Likewise, men are to be tough, strong leaders, and the power-brokers. It is a quandary with which many women of faith struggle.
Yet, let’s meet the 7th century Abbess Burgundofara who was the founder of the famous Evoriacum Monastery in France, which after her death was renamed in her honor, Faremoutiers Abbey (Fara’s Monastery). Abbess Burgundofara was both tough and tender.
Faremoutiers Abbey located near modern-day Disneyland Paris was likely the first double monastery in France. These Celtic double monasteries began in Ireland and they were places where both monks and nuns lived on the same monastic grounds under the Rule of an Abbott or Abbess as the Religious head. The nuns and monks lived in separate quarters, but often worked and worshipped together.
When Burgundofara was a child, St. Columbanus, the famous Irish monk, visited in her home and blessed and dedicated her to God. This left such an indelible mark upon her soul that she resisted her parents’ attempts to force her to marry a few years later. Burgundofara spoke boldly to her father about becoming a nun. She said to him: “To lose my life for the sake of virtue, and fidelity to the promise I have made to God, would be a great happiness.”
As founder and Abbess of Faremoutiers Abbey, Burgundofara grew into a strong leader who was not afraid to speak her mind. Those who lived on her monastic grounds discovered that she was both tough and tender.
Interestingly, it is recorded by the 7th c. writer Jonas of Bobbio that a monk named Agrestius from one of Columbanus’ monasteries “felt called” to mansplain Burgundofara concerning his thoughts on how she was not being a good Abbess. He castigated her for using the Rule of Columbanus (of which he did not approve) in her monastery. Well, let’s just politely say…he met tough.
This is how Jonas of Bobbio recorded that historic confrontation, “Agrestius then made his way to Burgundofara to try if he might defile her with his insinuations. But the virgin of Christ confounded him, not in a feminine manner, but with a virile response: “Why have you come here, you confuter of truth, inventor of new tales, pouring out your honey-sweetened poison to change healthy food into deadly bitterness? You slander those whose virtues I have experienced. From them I received the doctrine of salvation. Their erudition has opened the way to the kingdom of Heaven for many. Recall the words of Isaiah: ‘Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil.’ Hurry and turn wholly away from this insanity.”
Each time I read this, I want to yell out, “Bravo, Burgundofara!“
She was known for not only her personal courage, strength, and toughness, but also for her tender care, counsel, and devotion for those at Faremoutiers. Jonas of Bobbio wrote that after serving as Abbess of Faremoutiers for thirty-seven years, Burgundofara had a fever and “died.” She was so tough that somehow, she managed to come back to life after visiting the heavenlies and was told she had to make restitution with three nuns whom she had hurt. She received their forgiveness, lived six more months, and then prophesied of her date and time of death. When she died in 657AD, it was recorded that her body smelled of sweet balsam.
A solemn mass was held thirty days after Abbess Burgundofara’s final Resurrection Day. Hopefully, it is not blasphemous to ponder that they waited this long to ensure that she would not come back to life. Her Will (Testamentum) confirmed that all the servants she had freed in her lifetime would continue to be free.
The Faremoutiers Monastic grounds still exist, 1400 years later. Sadly, the French Revolution destroyed her monastic buildings, but in 1931, a group of Benedictine nuns came to reoccupy a building on the very spot of the ruins of the old abbey. A few nuns still live and serve there.
Yes, Abbess Burgundofara was a strong, powerful, and deeply spiritual leader. She was both tough and tender.
Her feast day is April 3.
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Here is a link if you would like to read more about Abbess Burgundofara and Faremoutiers Abbey.
This upcoming Wednesday, April 6th, join Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin for a discussion on the injustice of Holy Week. Live on Facebook in the Godspace Light Community Group at 9am PT. Can’t join us live? Catch it later on youtube!
As we journey towards Easter this year, we are watching for how God gives us Beauty in the Ashes.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joyinstead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. ISAIAH 61: 1-3 NIV
A couple of weeks ago, during our ART WALK, I discovered a new to me artist who was all about bringing BEAUTY into our world, even when the world wasn’t always beautiful. Her name is ALMA THOMAS. Art and Theology blog has a great post on Alma.
ART WALK has been a part of our church practice since we started thinplace as a house church back in our Cincinnati days. We go as a group to the art museum and listen to a passage of scripture and then we have an hour or more to go be with the art and allow the Holy Spirit to take us wherever the Holy Spirit wants to go. You might visit many areas of the museum or stand in front of one painting for the entire time. It just depends upon the day and how the Spirit is leading. Then we meet back together for lunch or dinner to discuss what we noticed, what we saw and what God talked to us about through the art.
This time we met at the Frist Art Museum here in Nashville for art walk. I spent the first part of my time walking through the exhibit downstairs “On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Perez Art Museum in Miami.” There were many amazing pieces but due to the political climate of Cuba, a lot of the art was dark and felt like walking through ashes, especially because of the invasion of Ukraine. So I decided to wander upstairs to see what might be there.
“Air View of a Spring Nursery ” by Alma W Thomas
WOW! what a difference a flight of stairs made! The works of Alma W. Thomas jumped off the wall in beautiful color! The exhibit itself is called “EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL” and it is a retrospective of Ms. Thomas amazing life. I sadly had never heard of her or seen any of work before this day, but now I am a huge fan! I love that she was the first graduate in Art from Howard University in Washington, DC. I love that she spent 35 years as a teacher, teaching art at Shaw Junior High School and I love that she lead a group called ” The Sunday Afternoon Beauty Club” at her church, helping students experience art, creativity and find beauty in their lives! What if every church had a Sunday Afternoon Beauty Club?
While she was always involved in the arts in DC and active as an artist, she really didn’t concentrate on painting until after she retired from teaching. She experimented with color and abstract forms, but she didn’t discover her bold brushwork style until she was preparing for a solo show at Howard University when she was 75 years old. She was inspired by the light coming through the leaves of the holy tree in her yard. The patterns of light gave her the idea for what became her signature style called “Alma’s stripes.” When Alma was 80 years old, she became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibit of her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. I love that she kept learning and painting all her life! She even devised a way to paint when her body got to tired and it was hard to move easily. Alma died in February of 1978 at 87. Her art got a new lease on life and became popular again, when the Obamas added her work ” Resurrection” to the White House Collection and hung it in the Old Family dining room for everyone to enjoy who ate there. Watch the video below to learn more!
CREATION alma thomas
Watch a great video on ALMA and let her become your new favorite artist too!
Try some ART and Create some BEAUTY inspired by Alma Thomas on your own!
create your own
Grab some paper and some crayons or markers and LISTEN to the podcast and follow the instructions: DRAW TOGETHER with Wendy Mac
or grab some paints and watch and follow
LISTEN : Alma found beauty in music too! LISTEN to the some of music Alma used to paint to on this spotify playlist created for the art exhibit by the Chrysler Museum of Art. “ALMA THOMAS Everything is Beautiful”
GOING DEEPER:
Which of Alma Thomas’s paintings speak to you?
What other artist inspires you to see beauty in our world?
Take time between now and Easter and visit an art museum or art gallery and allow God to speak to you through the art.
READ Why Beauty Matters in Wartime
Watch for Beauty in the Ashes!
They Laid Him in the Tomb by Alma Thomas
“The ashes on our head remind us that we are dust and to dust we will return. Yet upon this dust of ours,
God blew his Spirit of life. So we should no longer live our lives chasing dust, chasing things that are here today and gone tomorrow.
Let us return to the Spirit the Giver of Life, let us return to the Fire that resurrects our ashes.”
POPE FRANCIS
If you are interested in learning more about ART WALKS or having me lead one in your town, just email me at freerangeworship@gmail.com and watch for thinplace soul care retreats including ART WALKS coming soon!
Sometimes the thought of being a child again is appealing. Not so many worldly cares, decisions, responsibilities. A comfortable home provided for you. Time to run and play on the grass.
But many children do bear the weight of what is wrong in the world. Many children have not known the security of a warm home, their own bed, grass to play on, and a stable community in which to live and worship and learn.
This was true of the transient farm workers’ children I went to school with as a young child in the late 50s and early 60s during the few years my family lived in the agricultural valleys of Central California. One town where my preacher father was the pastor of a small church, we lived in a racially mixed neighborhood of lower-middle-class, stable families. My neighborhood playmate was a little black girl. I thought nothing of her color, except maybe fascination; and when we went into her house, I remember her mother as a smiling kind lady who offered me milk and cookies.
I was about 8 when culture shock hit. We moved to a small town in the San Joaquin Valley, where 2/3 of our elementary school were black and Hispanic, many of whom were transient farmworkers’ children. I probably stood with my mouth open the day I first heard the “N” word yelled at a group of kids and then the angry commotion that resulted. I had never seen or felt a group of people, let alone kids, that seemed to throb with such vehemence that day. A busload of children almost rocked with pent-up energy; arms and hands gestured out windows; heads yelled out slang and pejoratives to others on the sidewalk. During recess, gangs ran on the edges of the big playground, and often altercations exploded between groups. The teachers had their hands full trying to control the intensity in the classrooms.
One day, Daddy drove my sister and me out to see a farm labor camp that a local farmer provided for his laborers and their families. I still remember our shock at seeing how some of our classmates lived. A semicircle of little shacks, some with cardboard patching up holes or windows. Old things sitting around. And everywhere just dirt. When it rained a big puddle formed. No grass to play on or trees to climb. No bushes or flowers anywhere. No bicycles or sidewalks to skate on.
As children, my sister and I knew nothing of activists who were even then working to improve the living conditions and wages of farmworkers. But now I look back and realize the great work done by leaders such as Mexican-American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. I’m pretty sure some of the farmers in our church in those days weren’t happy that farm labor unions were forming, and that Chavez was organizing protests and negotiating for better contracts and laws.
Why is it that even Christian people often are slow to see such needs and embrace changes that are good for humanity? Yes, farmers were trying to make ends meet and realize a profit from their crops. Towns wanted order, not conflict. Schools wanted clean, healthy students sitting quietly at desks, ready to learn. And in the context of the Cold War, fears abounded that unions and other activist community organizations might be fronts for Marxist elements.
Life is messy. But society is only as stable and strong as its least powerful members. Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) knew this. Along with Dolores Huerta, he founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers labor union. His politics combined with Roman Catholic social teachings. He was influenced by reading about the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and Mahatma Gandhi, and others to engage in nonviolent protest.
He organized workers, led protests, hunger strikes and fasts, and formed alliances. During his public fast in 1968, he received this telegram from Martin Luther King, Jr.:
You stand today as a living example of the Gandhian tradition with its great force for social progress and its healing spiritual powers. My colleagues and I commend you for your bravery, salute you for your indefatigable work against poverty and injustice, and pray for your health and your continuing service as one of the outstanding men of America.1
Through the many years of hard work and dedication of Chavez and others, the farm workers union became a political force whose support was sought by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy as well as California gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan. When Kennedy was assassinated, Chavez served as a pallbearer at his funeral. In the 1970s he met with Pope Paul VI, who commended his activism.
Chavez was (and remains) a controversial figure. But his lifelong, tireless work on behalf of unjust conditions for farmworkers, especially Chicanos in agricultural California, has had lasting good effect. His work continues to influence activists both in ecological ethics and in keeping the focus on human dignity—and, I would add, hope for the children.
In an open letter to the grape industry amid the Grape Strike, Chavez wrote:
The men and women who have suffered and endured much and not only because of our abject poverty but because we have been kept poor. The color of our skins, the languages of our cultural and native origins, the lack of formal education, the exclusion from the democratic process, the numbers of our slain in recent wars — all these burdens generation after generation have sought to demoralize us, to break our human spirit. But God knows we are not beasts of burden, we are not agricultural implements or rented slaves, we are men. And mark this well [..] we are men locked in a death struggle against man’s inhumanity to man in the industry you represent. And this struggle itself gives meaning to our life and ennobles our dying.2
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Notes: 1 & 2 Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Chavez
Photo Credits:
- Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin migrant workers collection (AFC 1985/001), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
- National Farm Workers Association protest buttons, Creative Commons
- CAESAR CHAVEZ, MIGRANT WORKERS UNION LEADER in 1972, public domain
- An example of housing for farmworkers and families in mid-20th century in California, public domain
Lent continues, the season is still full of possibility and promise. Are you finding ashes and desiring beauty? Now available as an online course, this virtual retreat will help you to lay out your garment of lament and put on your garment of praise. Gather your joys and release your grief with Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin! Click here for more info!
by Rodney Marsh
“Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up.” (Ex 3:2) Then, that fire of God’s Spirit began to burn on in Moses to free God’s people and bring them to a new land. This is God’s way.
Recently another devastating summer bushfire came close to where I live when more than 2000 Ha (5000 acres) of forest and farmland (including four homes) were literally reduced to ashes. All leaves, twigs, branches and bushes have been consumed. The ground is bare and white as snow. The ash creates an eerie background for the black statuesque tree trunks and the naked black skeletons of taller shrubs. One thing is certain following such an all-consuming fire: after the winter rains (May to September), from August to December (spring and early summer), the white ashes will be replaced by green shoots on the bushes and trees and a vast variety of blue, white, orange and red spring flowers will emerge from the devastation. The bush will bloom with “wreathes of flowers instead of ashes” (Is 61:3). There is nothing surer!
The church year begins with Advent (looking forward to the coming) which gives way to Epiphany (a time of uncovering the meaning of the coming) which yields to Lent (a time of strengthening and preparation for our participation in the Coming One’s death and resurrection). The ‘beauty from ashes’ theme has caused me to think about the place of ashes and beauty in the times of Advent, Epiphany, Lent and Easter based on Isaiah 61:3 (CEV) “The Lord has sent me to comfort those who mourn… He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow (“to give unto them beauty for ashes” AV/KJV)”. He will do this. There is nothing surer!
Fire & Loss
Ashes can only form as a result of a fierce, destructive fire – less intense fires leave charcoal. I first noticed the presence of ‘fire’ in the Lectionary readings for Advent when the fiery preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-20) heralded the advent and epiphany of the Messiah. John’s preaching foretold the two types of fire that would accompany the coming servant in his kingly status and mission: an all-consuming, destructive fire of judgement and a purifying, creative fire of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
John fulsomely explains the fires of judgement that would accompany the advent of the Messiah, “An axe is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire…” for the Messiah’s “threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out”( Luke 3:9,17). John predicted that, when the Messiah came, the fires of judgement would rage and destroy all that is not from God. It doesn’t sound like John, at that time, would have chosen the themes of “hope”, “peace”, “joy” and “love” as themes to characterise the coming of the Messiah!
Ashes
The ‘ashes’ of Lent following these fires of Advent and Epiphany seem to be a necessary prelude to the beauty of the new life of Easter followed by the growth of Pentecost. In Jesus’ day ashes represented mourning and are associated with loss, lament and shame. The Bible records mourners as expressing their grief by tears, tearing their clothes and covering their heads with ashes. When Job’s family were killed, he lost his property and his body became leprous, he “sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow” and when his empathetic friends visited him on the ash-heap they too, “in their great sorrow, tore their clothes, then sprinkled ash on their heads and cried bitterly” (Job 2:8,12). Tamar, after being raped, “tore the robe she was wearing and put ashes on her head. Then she covered her face with her hands and cried loudly as she walked away” (2 Sam 13:19). For Tamar, wailing, torn clothing, and ashes all expressed her shame and grief at what has happened. Today Tamar would probably have been diagnosed with PTSD, for, despite being taken in by family, her trauma meant “she was always sad and lonely.” Ash was probably used as a symbol for mourning because ashes signified mortality. When God told Adam “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen3:19) the Hebrew word is “ash,” as in the above references. Insofar as death and suffering are seen to be ‘judgement,’ ashes are also associated with sin and guilt, but this is not a common association. In the past, Lenten practises have over-emphasised guilt, sin and repentance rather than our human task of facing up to our own and others’ suffering and mortality. Ashes signify the suffering and death that are our participation in this passing-away world. In addition, the theme ‘beauty for ashes’ well summarises Jesus’ Lenten, testing journey to the cross. The question of Lent then becomes ‘How can we turn the ashes of our lives to beauty?’ Answer: we can’t, God can.
Beauty
To replace ashes with beauty was Jesus’ mission. The phrase “beauty for ashes” comes from Isaiah 61:3 and this is part of the “Servant Song” that Jesus chose to read when he began his public ministry. Luke records that in the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus “was given the book of Isaiah the prophet.” He unrolled it and read from Isaiah 61 “The Lord’s Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’” (Lk 4:17-19). Then he sat down to begin his sermon on that text. Living in an aural culture meant few men could read (Jesus was apparently among them) so, instead, large portions of Scripture were ‘learned by heart.’ Those who heard Jesus would have recalled the words that follow the section that Jesus read… “The Lord has sent me to comfort those who mourn, especially in Jerusalem. He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts.” (Is 61:3). Then Jesus preached a very short sermon: “What you have just heard me read has come true today.” If we assume that the congregation knew the contents of all of this Servant Song, then Jesus was claiming the Servant’s role to “comfort those who mourn” as his task. The Servant’s comforting, healing role was central for Jesus. He said later, “Blessed are those who mourn – they shall be comforted” because he knew that this was his role and he would do it. So still today Jesus’ Spirit brings forth beauty from the ashes of your life and mine. This is her task.
Isaiah 61 speaks to a deeply traumatised nation whose capital has been destroyed and whose people had become refugees. Here we see the three traditional mourning responses: Tears flowed from their broken hearts. Ashes enshrouded their heads as a sign of their grief and, as a sign of their sadness, dull, heavy, coarse garments weighed down their bodies. Isaiah predicts that the Lord will appoint a Servant who will “comfort their mourning.” There will be no more tears, instead they will be anointed with the joyful oil of celebration. Their drab clothes will be gone and the Servant will dress them in colourful robes for the coming party. Instead of ashes, the Servant will adorn their heads with a beautiful crown of flowers. In faith we believe Jesus is the servant who will do this for us. Not in some hoped-for future, but here and now in our lives as they are. How?
Ashes and Beauty, Death and Resurrection
Jesus is the link between Ashes and Beauty, Lent and Easter. Jesus could take his Lenten journey to the cross and beyond because he was “focused on the joy that was set before Him.” It was obedience to his Father that led him to the cross and faith in his Father that empowered him to see beyond the cross to “the joy set before him.” The comfort of the Servant Jesus (the party robes, anointing with joy, and a crown of beauty) is given to those who join, and only those who join, Jesus in his Lenten journey.
This will involve ashes, for comfort can only be given to those who mourn. We will suffer, such is our humanity, and following suffering, we will grieve and mourn our losses. This is the only soil in which the seeds of beauty in us can sprout, grow and flower. Mourning is therefore our necessary Lenten journey to the cross. When Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,” he was repeating Jesus’ call to “take up your cross and follow me.” The intense fire that produces ash is our death to all that belongs to our false self. Such a consuming fire, as Jesus’ experience shows, is essential to uncover our true self ‘hidden in Christ with God’ (“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” Col 3:3). Viewed in this way, suffering in its myriad forms (including death) are the essential ‘loss of all things in order to gain Christ’ (Phil 3:8). Remember, it is only the resultant ash heap of our lives (Paul calls his ash heap ‘garbage’) that can yield “wreathes of flowers instead of ashes” and that there is only one person who can die to your false self – you! This process of ‘dying to self’ begins now, but it is a ‘becoming’ which is not complete until our bodily resurrection. Meanwhile, in this ‘vale of tears’, we are always learning, daily focussing on, and catching more glimpses of, the beauty and joy which awaits us. Resurrection can only be given to those who join Jesus on his Lenten journey to the cross and then we also join Jesus as he shares with us God’s gift of beauty and joy in resurrection to life.
The gift of beauty for ashes is pure grace, and, though faith and obedience are always present, and comfort a sure promise, beauty revealed to us and in us – is God’s gift alone. And the timing of this gift is not ours to engineer. The gift of beauty for ashes is what John calls our baptism in the fire of the Holy Spirit – the fire that does not consume but renews and regenerates. The journey from Advent, through Epiphany and Lent and on to Easter and Pentecost represents, not only the path that Jesus walked but also the journey we must continually make if we are to follow him. We pass through the fires of loss, then are given the comfort of Spirit and glimpse the beauty, joy and hope that calls us on.
Practices
- In Isaiah’s time three rituals were used to signify mourning and receiving the gift of joy in place of grief: adornment of the head (ashes to flowers or ‘crown’) clothing of the body (sackcloth to colourful robes) and ritual actions (weeping or wailing to singing and dancing). What adornments, clothing and actions could your family or community use to ritualise and enable the mourning of Good Friday to prepare for the gift of joy on Easter Sunday?
- How do you respond to these sayings on beauty?
- “When we see Beauty she always introduces her companions: joy and love.”
- “Beauty, Truth and Goodness form a divine triad. No one of these can exist without the presence of the others.”
- “Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty – that is all you know on earth, and all you need to know” (John Keats).
- The tree in the photo is a desert tree called a “gimlet” (EUCALYPTUS salubris) from Kalgoorlie (Western Australia). The gimlet has a smooth copper coloured trunk and branches which reflect the glow in the setting sun. When I photographed this one I thought of the bush that Moses saw ‘which burned but was not consumed’.
Journey through Lent with this downloadable bundle featuring Prayer Cards, 40 Daily Ideas Guide for Lent, and our Lenten devotional – A Journey Into Wholeness: Soul Travel from Lent to Easter. Bundled together for convenience and savings!
My apologies – Last week Lilly Lewin and I recorded what I think was one of the best Facebook live sessions we have held. However as Holy Week and Good Friday are still a couple of weeks away there is still plenty of time to listen to this. Let us know what you think
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