On Friday we launched my new podcast The Liturgical Rebels. It has been an exciting few days. I am overwhelmed by the number of you who have not only listened to this first episode, but also encouraged me with your words of affirmation and eagerness to listen to the next episode. I am very grateful for Melissa Kelly and Forrest Inslee without whose help it would never have seen the light of day. I love the fascinating people I get to interview and the new opportunities it is opening up for other involvement in God’s work.
As we move towards the second Sunday of Lent however, I realize that adding a big new project like this to my life also means relinquishing some of what I currently give my time and energy to. As I commented in yesterday’s Meditation Monday: Relinquish, Let Go “Lent is about relinquishment. It confronts us with our mortality, our vulnerability, our ambitions. It confronts us with how seriously we will follow Jesus into the future. “ It is a good season to reflect on hard questions like those I posed yesterday “For love of God, for love of the world and for love of myself and my inner wellbeing what am I willing to give up?” They have very serious consequences for my life. I appreciate your prayers as I grapple with this, as part of what I am rethinking is my involvement with godspacelight.com and I hope to be able to hand the resource centre which I know so many of you rely on, over to someone else.
I have also decided to cancel the Lenten Quiet Day on March 2nd. There are many other similar offerings available and I feel it is not the best use of my time. My apologies to those of you this may inconvenience. I will however still facilitate the Spirituality of Gardening webinar on May 11. I am really looking forward to this event, which is not just for gardeners, but for anyone who loves to get out and experience the wonder of God in the natural world. The garden has seemingly endless lessons to teach us about God and what it means to be a person of faith. We read about the miracle of the fish and the loaves in the Bible but experience a miracle every time we harvest God’s bounty. We read about the death and resurrection of Christ in the gospels, but experience it every time we plant a seed in the ground and watch it burst into life.
In her Freerange Friday: The Invitation of Lent Part 2 Lilly Lewin reminds us that a Lent invites us to be present with Jesus in the wilderness. She comments: “My fear often blocks my faith. The bitterness of the world gets under my skin and I become like it, sadly more hateful rather than more loving.” I think this is so true for all of us.
In Embracing Lent: A Spiritual Journey with Scripture Memorization Cards Hilary Horn reminds us of the power of scripture memorization as a practice during this season. As she says, By committing these verses to heart, we open ourselves to a richer and more profound experience of Lent, ultimately drawing nearer to the spiritual renewal that Easter promises.
I hope that you are fully engaged in this journey through Lent, taking time for reflection, introspection and outreach into God’s world. I pray that you too will take seriously the questions I have posed for this season and allow God to liberate you into relinquishment. Let me end with part of the poem from yesterday’s Meditation Monday which was inspired by my reading of Cole Arthur Riley’s Black Liturgies, because I think that this an important focus for all of us at this time.
Stay close to your inner world,
Travel slowly through the hidden corridors
Of your heart.
Listen quietly not for answers,
But for the questions
Hiding beneath the stress,
Of your uncertainty.
Do not be afraid,
Of what you will uncover,
Of what you might relinquish,
If you become honest
With yourself.
Many blessings
Christine Sine