Advent - What Was So Important?

What was so important to God that he did this?

Photo credit: Bob Swain

The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, “Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” 

The woman answered the snake, “No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.’”

But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!”

The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.

Genesis 3.1-6, ERV

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We can get so used to the Christmas season that we may not notice how peculiar the whole story is.  Doesn't it strike you as odd that the transcendent God of the universe decided he should spend 9 months in a young woman's womb and then find himself a helpless baby laying in a feeding trough (that's what a "manger" is), dependent on two subsistence-level peasants (Mary and Joseph) for every last little thing?

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight we know that this was the miracle of the Incarnation and that it led down a path that culminated in the only event even more absurd: God being executed by his own creation.  But that only deepens the mystery.  This was an incredibly drastic move on God's part -- almost desperate, if one can say that about God.  What could possibly be so important that he would commit himself to a plan so extreme?

The Genesis scripture quoted above may seem a strange choice for the beginning of a series about Advent, but actually it's integral to the Christmas story. Why was the King of Creation willing to become a tiny infant? Why would a being used to everything being done with just a word voluntarily put that all aside and throw himself into a life of utter powerlessness -- into having his diapers changed in a dirty, frigid stable? 

What was so important to him?

At its core the Genesis story tells us that we and the world around us were created good, but our disobedience to God's simple, loving request doomed his children. Why are there wars and slavery and economic meltdowns, but also first responders, Shakespeare and Mozart, and sunsets that move you to tears?  Because this is a good world that is broken, and we are the ones that broke it. We ourselves released the terminal disease of evil upon the world, we don't know how to cure it, and it eats away at our souls. There is no cure, no hope, unless...

Hope

Unless, as Advent tells us (and as we will discuss as we move through this series), God himself enters into the stream of time, becomes a finite human, fights the climactic battle that defeats Evil, and absorbs the disease of sin into himself so that his children can live. 

In other words, unless the child comes.

Traditionally, on the first Sunday of Advent, members of the Christian Movement light a candle called The Candle of Hope. When we were without hope, God did not turn his back and walk away, counting us as a failed experiment. At the crucial time, he came for us. Amidst all the presents and joy, the ho-ho-ho and mistletoe, this is what we must never forget about Christmas: The thing that was so important to God was us.

*          *          *

Prayer: God of hope and of love at all costs, although we rebel against you, you do not give up on us. Thank you for going to the utmost extreme to save your helpless children. Thank you for being the wondrous child who came to our rescue.  In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen.

Why Jesus Put Up With the Devil

Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness

by Tissot

Now we are about half way through the period of lent. Last Sunday we looked at the Gospel of Mark's very brief, terse account of Jesus' 40 days in the desert.  This time we'll look at Matthew's account, where he tells of the epic battle between the Son of God and the Father of lies.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus put up with the Devil in the wilderness at all? Being God he could, after all, have simply blown him away. That's what we humans would expect. I've asked the theologian known as Gregory the Great to give his viewpoint on this question.

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Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

 But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’”

Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says,

‘God will give orders to his angels about you;
they will hold you up with their hands,
so that not even your feet
will be hurt on the stones.’” 

Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. “All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”

(Matthew 4.1 - 10, GNB)

But there is something else we have to consider in this temptation of the Lord, dearly beloved. When the Lord was tempted by the devil, he answered him with the commands of sacred Scripture. 

By the Word that he was, he could have easily plunged his tempter into the abyss.
But he did not reveal the power of his might, but he only brought forth the precepts of Scripture. This was to give us an example of his patience, so that as often as we suffer something from vicious persons we should be aroused to teach rather than to exact revenge.  

Consider how great God’s patience is, how great our impatience. When we are provoked by some injury or threatened harm, or moved to rage, we seek revenge as far as possible. When we are unable to obtain it, we make our threats. 

But the Lord endured the devil’s opposition, and he answered him with nothing except words of meekness. He put up with one he could have punished, so that this might all the more redound to his praise. He overcame his enemy not by destroying him but by suffering him for a while.

Gregory the Great (c. AD 540–604)
Forty Gospel Homilies 16.2–3.

Produce

Photo by fir0002

When we walk in the Spirit He produces in us the fruit of a holy character. The contrast between the works of the -- i.e., the selfish life -- and the fruit of the Spirit, which is the natural product of His influence, is very marked. In works there is effort, the clatter of machinery, the deafening noise of the factory. But fruit is found in the calm, still, regular process of Nature, which is ever producing in her secret laboratory the kindly fruits of the earth.

 How quiet it all is! There is no voice nor language. It is almost impossible to realise what is being effected by a long summer day of sunshine. The growing of autumn arrives with noiseless footsteps.

So it is with the soul that daily walks in the Spirit. There are probably no startling experiences, no marked transitions, nothing special to record in the diary, but every year those who live in close proximity witness a ripening wealth of fruit in the manifestation of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control.

F. B. Meyer

Golden Calf

The Golden Calf

Art by Jim Padgett

Your Christian influence, your reputation as a worker for God, and your standing among your brethren, may be an idol to which you must die, before you can be free to live for Him alone.

- A.B. Simpson

"...We are not our own"

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me

(Gospel of Matthew chapter 16 verse 24)


Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects. Today our guest blogger will be John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, who spells out in his pragmatic way what Jesus' challenge to "stop thinking about yourself" really means.

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This [scripture] implies:

1. A thorough conviction that we are not our own, that we are not the proprietors of ourselves or anything we enjoy, that we have no right to dispose of our goods, bodies, souls, or any of the actions or passions of them.

2. A solemn resolution to act suitably to this conviction: Not to live to ourselves, not to pursue our own desires, not to please ourselves, nor to suffer our own will to be any principle of action to us.

 John Wesley
Forms of Prayer for Every Day of the Week (Preface)

"...Less Rather Than More"

Third Sunday of Lent

"Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: 'When someone invites you to a wedding, don't sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, 'Give this man your seat!' Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed. 

"'So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, 'Friend, move up here to this better place!' What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.'" 

(Gospel of Luke chapter 14 verse 7-11, ERV)

Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects. Out guest blogger today is the well-known author Thomas a Kempis whose book The Imitation of Christ lags only behind the Bible itself in total sales..

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MY CHILD, I will teach you now the way of peace and true liberty. Seek, child, to do the will of others rather than your own. Always choose to have less rather than more. Look always for the last place and seek to be beneath all others. Always wish and pray that the will of God be fully carried out in you. Behold, such will enter into the realm of peace and rest.

Thomas a Kempis (c.1380 – July 25, 1471)

The Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 23

Do Christians Really "Fast" During Lent?

Jesus is tempted to make bread while fasting

The other day on Facebook I got a question from a friend about my article on the 40 days of Lent. It is a good question, especially if you have the religious background both of us do, wherein we once attempted to celebrate the holy days God gave ancient Israel. Long story; maybe I'll tell it one day. But in the Old Testament you'll notice, fasting could sometimes be quite rigorous. So why do members of the Christian Movement call the somewhat gentler thing we do during Lent "fasting?"

Well, at one time the Lenten fast was much more rigorous too! But I didn't get into that. Here is the question and a modified version of my response.

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Q: How do you define fasting? My understanding of it is that it's literally going without any food or water for a period of 24 hours.

I remember many years ago a minister... mentioning in a sermon (on the Day of Atonement) that he never knew of anyone who tried to fast this way for 40 days that didn't end up doing permanent damage to his/her body, and thus strictly warned against attempting it in this day and age, due to the degeneration of the human body.

But your article makes it sound as if it's a relatively common thing for folks to do.

What am I missing here?


A: As you point out there would be a lot of dead and sickly worshipers each year if it was a full on fast. This Scientific American article says it's just barely possible to to go without food for 40 days or a little longer, but if you also don't drink anything you'll be dead in 2 weeks.  It seems to me that Christ, Moses -- who did it twice! -- and Elijah must have had supernatural assistance to make it that long.

We're dealing with the Christian fast of Lent of course, which is not necessarily patterned on an ancient Israelite fast. But it's not without biblical precedent, since it does resemble Daniel's 'no pleasant bread' fast in the Book of Daniel 10.3 (In the old King James Version Daniel says, "I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." ('Pleasant bread' means 'rich food.')

So for instance I'm eating no meat for the 40 days. Others abstain from other things.  In the Old Testament there are fasts that include not putting oil in your hair or even refusing to bathe (although Jesus said not to do that.)

At any rate, yes this type of a fast is fairly common.

The Scriptures mention different degrees and  types of fasts. In case you are really, really interested in what the Bible says about fasting (or just have a research paper on it), here is a comprehensive list of every fast it mentions.


(I borrowed this with much gratitude from the wondrous Bible.org site. It was originally compiled by the Bible Scholar Kent D. Berghuis.)

Scriptural References to Fasting

What follows is a comprehensive list of references to fasting in Scripture, with a brief summary of the contents of each passage (synoptic passages have been treated together). Notation is made of the extent of the fast (whether the fast is strictly individual or of a corporate nature), for the purpose of highlighting the corporate nature of biblical fasting in contrast to the frequent misconception that fasting was intended to be a strictly private, individualistic matter. Some text critical notes related to questionable NT passages are made here, but a fuller discussion may be found above in the discussion in the second chapter.

Reference	Extent	Summary
Exod 24:18, 34:28; Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10	individual	Moses twice spends forty days on Mount Sinai without eating or drinking, and in mourning over Israel’s sin.
Judg 20:26	corporate	Israel fasts until evening to inquire of YHWH after loss to Benjamin.
1 Sam 1:7-8	individual	Hannah weeps and refuses to eat when her husband’s other wife provokes her, and she prays for a son.
1 Sam 7:6	corporate	Israel fasts for a day to repent, Samuel prays, YHWH delivers them from the Philistines.
1 Sam 14:24-46	corporate	Saul places the army under oath not to eat until evening on the day of battle with the Philistines.
1 Sam 20:34	individual	Jonathan refuses to eat because of his grief over his father’s mistreatment of David.
1 Sam 28:20	individual	Saul eats nothing all day and night when he consults with the witch of En-dor.
1 Sam 31:13; 1 Chr 10:12	corporate	Men of Jabesh fast seven days after recovering the bodies of Saul and Jonathan from the Philistines.
2 Sam 1:12	corporate	David’s men fast until evening upon hearing the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan.
2 Sam 3:35	individual(?)	David refuses to eat food until evening when he heard of the death of Abner.
2 Sam 12:16-23	individual	David fasts and weeps seven days during the terminal illness of his son by Bathsheba.
1 Kgs 13:1-22	individual	An unnamed prophet is instructed by God not to eat or drink while on a mission to prophesy against Jeroboam’s idolatry.
1 Kgs 19:8	individual	Elijah goes forty days on the strength of the food provided to him by an angel.
1 Kgs 21:4	individual	Ahab eats no food because he is sullen after Naboth refused to sell his vineyard.
1 Kgs 21:9-12	corporate	Jezebel calls a false day of fasting to accuse Naboth of cursing God.

1 Kgs 21:27-29	individual	Ahab fasts and puts on sackcloth in repentance after Elijah rebuked him, and God recognized Ahab’s humility.
2 Chr 20:3	corporate	Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout Judah to seek YHWH for fear of the armies of Ammon and Moab.
Ezra 8:21-23	corporate	Ezra calls a fast to seek God’s protection for those leaving Babylon for Israel.
Ezra 10:6	individual	Ezra eats and drinks nothing because of his mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
Neh 1:4	individual	Nehemiah mourns and fasts for days over the news of the state of Jerusalem, confessing national sin.
Neh 9:1	corporate	The people of Israel assemble with fasting to confess their sin after Ezra reads from the law.
Esth 4:3	corporate	The Jews weep and fast when they hear of the king’s decree for their destruction.
Esth 4:16	corporate	Esther, her maidens, and the Jews of Susa fast from food and drink for three days before she goes to the king.
Esth 9:31	corporate	Purim is established for the Jews with instructions for fasting and lamentations.
Job 3:24	individual	Job groans at the sight of food, and experiences great affliction and pain.
Job 33:19-20	individual	Elihu suggests that man (specifically, Job) is afflicted by God and unable to eat because God is chastening him.
Ps 35:13	individual	David defends his honor by saying that he fasted and prayed when his enemies were sick.
Ps 42:3	individual	The psalmist (Sons of Korah) says that tears are his food day and night.
Ps 69:10	individual	David’s fasting, weeping and prayer was an object of scorn by his enemies.
Ps 102:4	individual	The afflicted psalmist forgets to eat bread because of his great grief.

Ps 107:17-18	individual	People in distress are pictured as near death, unable to eat, but YHWH saves them.
Ps 109:24	individual	David says his knees are weak from fasting, and his flesh has grown lean during his affliction from his enemies.
Isa 58:3-6	corporate	Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy; He desires righteousness first.
Jer 14:12	corporate	Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy.
Jer 36:6-9	corporate	The people of Judah assemble in Jerusalem for a fast, and Baruch reads Jeremiah’s prophecy to them.
Ezek 24:18	individual	Ezekiel is instructed in special mourning rites, that include fasting, for the death of his wife.
Dan 6:18	individual	Darius fasts from food, entertainment, and sleep through the night while worrying for Daniel in the lion’s den.
Dan 9:3	individual	Daniel fasts, confessing Israel’s sin, upon reading Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy weeks.
Dan 10:2-3	individual	Daniel mourns for three weeks, abstaining from tasty food, meat, wine, and ointment.
Joel 1:14	corporate	Joel calls for a nation-wide fast because of famine that is destroying the land.
Joel 2:12-15	corporate	YHWH calls the people to return to Him with fasting, rending their hearts, not garments; Joel again calls for a fast.
Jonah 3:5	corporate	All of Nineveh fasts, repenting at the preaching of Jonah of the destruction of the city.
Zech 7:5	corporate	YHWH rebukes the priests for their ritual fasts that were done more for themselves than for Him.
Zech 8:19	corporate	YHWH will transform the ritual fasts into feasts of joy when God’s people have repented of sin and He grants them favor.

Matt 4:2; Luke 4:2	individual	Jesus fasts forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil.
Matt 6:16-18	individual	Jesus teaches that fasting should be done privately for God, not for the purpose of being seen to be fasting, like the hypocrites.
Matt 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35	corporate	Jesus tells John’s disciples that his do not fast because the bridegroom is present, but when He is taken away they will.
Matt 15:32; Mark 8:3	corporate	Jesus did not wish to send the crowd away fasting,855 since they had been with Him three days and have nothing (more?) to eat.
Matt 17:21;856 Mark 9:29857	individual?	Jesus says that this kind of demon goes out only by means of prayer and fasting.858
Luke 2:37	individual	Anna serves in the temple night and day with fastings and prayers.
Luke 18:12	individual	The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable shows his self-righteousness by boasting that he fasts twice a week and tithes.
Acts 9:9	individual	Saul fasted from food and water three days after the Damascus Road experience.

Acts 10:30859	individual	Cornelius was fasting and praying when an angel instructed him to go to Peter.
Acts 13:2-3	corporate	Prophets and teachers in Antioch were ministering to the Lord and fasting before and after the Holy Spirit set apart Saul and Barnabas.
Acts 14:23	corporate	Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in the churches, having prayed with fasting.
Acts 23:12	corporate	Certain Jews bind themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they kill Paul.
Acts 27:9	corporate	Paul’s voyage to Rome takes place after “the fast” was over, a reference to the Day of Atonement.
Acts 27:33	corporate	Paul encourages the ship’s crew to eat, since they had gone 14 days fasting.860
1 Cor 7:5861	couples	Paul tells couples not to deprive one another sexually, except for brief periods devoted to prayer and fasting.
2 Cor 6:5; 2 Cor 11:27	individual	Paul lists “fastings”862 among the hardships he suffered as a mark of his apostleship.

Summary of Biblical Purposes for Fasting

I. As a Sign of Sorrow
A. For tragic events (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 31:13/1 Chr 10:12; 2 Sam 1:12, 3:35; Esth 4:3; Jer 14:1-12; Joel 1:14, 2:12-15).
B. For personal sorrow (1 Sam 1:7-8, 20:34; Job 3:24; Pss 42:3, 102:4, 107:17-18).
II. As a Sign of Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness
A. National or corporate sins (Exod 34:28/Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10; 1 Sam 7:6; Ezra 9:1- 10:17; Neh 1:4-7, 9:1; Dan 9:3-14; Jonah 3:5-9; Zech 8:16-19).
B. Personal sins (2 Sam 12:16-23; 1 Kgs 21:27-29; Ps 69:10; Acts 9:9?).
C. As an opportunity for public exposure of sin (1 Kgs 21:9-12; Isa 58:1-5; Jer 36:6-9).
III. As an Aid in Prayer to God
A. For others (2 Sam 12:16-23; Neh 1:8-10; Ps 35:13; Dan 6:18, 9:15-19).
B. For self (1 Sam 1:7-11; Neh 1:11; Ps 109:21-24; Dan 9:3, 10:1-3).
C. For success in battle (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 7:6; 2 Chr 20:3) and in other endeavors (Ezra 8:21-23; Esth 4:16).
D. For relief from famine (Jer 14:1-12; Joel 1:14, 2:12-15).
E. As a means of personal or group devotion (Matt 6:16-18; Luke 2:37; Acts 10:30, 13:2-3; 1 Cor 7:5).
IV. As a Part of Experiencing God’s Presence
A. Supernatural sustaining by God (Exod 34:28/Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10; 1 Kgs 19:8).
B. Reliance on God in times of temptation or spiritual warfare (Matt 4:2/Luke 4:2; Matt 17:21/Mark 9:29).
C. Reflecting the reality of the absence of Christ’s immediate presence with his followers (Matt 9:14-15/Mark 2:18-20/Luke 5:33-35).
D. Going without food to remain longer under Jesus’ teaching (Matt 15:32/Mark 8:3).
V. As an Act of Ceremonial Public Worship (Neh 9:1; Esth 9:31; Isa 58:3; Jer 36:6-9; Zech 7:3-5, 8:19; Acts 27:9).
VI. As Related to Ministry
A. Preparation for significant ministry (Matt 4:2/Luke 4:2; Acts 9:9, 13:2-3, 14:23).
B. Specific command of God while prophesying (1 Kgs 13:1-22).
C. Suffering for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor 6:5/11:27).
VII. Negative Associations or Corrections of Fasting
A. Fasting while engaging in hypocritical actions or attitudes (1 Sam 28:20; 1 Kgs 21:9-12; Isa 58; Jer 14:10-12; Jer 36:6-26; Zech 7:3-14; Matt 6:16-18; Luke 18:12).
B. Fasting as a solemn binding for a foolish or sinful oath (1 Sam 14; Acts 23:12-21).
C. Breaking a fast when God has commanded it (1 Kgs 13:8-24).
D. A sulking refusal to eat (1 Kgs 21:4).
E. Wrongly attributing the inability to eat as God’s chastening (Job 33:19-20).

"... the only remedy..."

Second Sunday of Lent

"Then Jesus called the crowd and his followers to him. He said, 'Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me.'"

(Gospel of Mark chapter 8 verse 34 ERV)

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Lent is about humbling one's self, turning from our sin, and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I'm asking wise followers of Christ speak on these subjects. Last week we heard from King David. Today's guest blogger is François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, a French Archbishop from 300 years ago who has some excellent advice on achieving our goals during this season.

A sickly self-love, full of pity for itself, cannot be touched without screaming. Touch it with the end of your finger and it thinks itself flayed alive. Then add to this sensitiveness the roughness of other people, full of imperfections unknown to themselves, their disgust at our defects (at least as great as ours toward theirs), and you find all the children of Adam tormenting one another: Half of mankind made unhappy by the other half, and rendering them miserable in their turn. 

The only remedy is to come out of one's self in order to find peace. We must renounce ourselves and lose all self-interest that we may no longer have anything to lose, to fear, or to contrive. Then we shall enjoy the true peace reserved for "men of good will," that is for those who have no longer any will but God's, which becomes theirs. Then men will not be able to harm us, they can no longer attack us through our hopes or our fears. Then we are willing to accept everything, and we refuse nothing.

(Francois Fenelon, Spiritual Letters)

"When Sins are Erased"

(A very Lent-like poem by Israel's King David. Suggested by N T Wright in Lent for Everyone, which I'm using to prepare myself for Easter.)

~          ~          ~

It is a great blessing when people are forgiven
     for the wrongs they have done,
     when their sins are erased.  
It is a great blessing when the Lord says
     they are not guilty,    
     when they don’t try to hide their sins.

Lord, I prayed to you again and again,
     but I did not talk about my sins.
        So I only became weaker and more miserable.
Every day you made life harder for me.
     I became like a dry land in the hot summertime.

Selah  

But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord. I stopped
  hiding my guilt
    and told you about my sins.
And you forgave them all!

Selah  

That is why your loyal followers pray to you
     while there is still time.
Then when trouble rises like a flood,
     it will not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me.
     You protect me from my troubles. You surround me and protect me,
     so I sing about the way you saved me.

Selah  

The Lord says, “I will teach you and guide you
    in the way you should live.
        I will watch over you and be your guide.
Don’t be like a stupid horse or mule
     that will not come to you unless you put a bit in its mouth
        and pull it with reins.”

Many pains will come to the wicked,
     but the Lord’s faithful love will surround
       those who trust in him.
Good people, rejoice and be very happy in the Lord.
All you who want to do right, rejoice!


(Book of Psalms 32.1-11 ERV )

Covenant

As this essay automatically posts itself, my family and I are at our local outpost of the Christian Movement renewing our covenant to serve Jesus the Messiah. This deeply meaningful ceremony was originated back in the mid-1700's by John Wesley, main founder of Methodism, the particular stream of Christianity I call home.

One of the main reasons I'm attached to Methodism is this ceremony and what is called the "Covenant Prayer," written by Wesley. Its taproot is sunk deep into the ancient Faith of the saints and it sums up -- for me at least -- the absolute, joyful, radical abandonment to Christ's will that is at the core of Christian life.

Even if you aren't Methodist though, I think you'll find this Renewal Prayer is the ideal foundation upon which to set all your other New Years Resolutions.

Covenant Prayer 

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will,
   rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
   put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
   exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full,
   let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
   let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
   you art mine,
      and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
   let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

To me, this is the place to build New Year's resolutions.

Lent: "Yet Even Now..."

Blow the horn in Zion;
give a shout on my holy mountain!
Let all the people of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is near—
 a day of darkness and no light,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread out
upon the mountains,
a great and powerful army comes,
unlike any that has ever come
before them,
or will come after them
in centuries ahead.

Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your hearts,
with fasting, with weeping,
and with sorrow;
tear your hearts
and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
very patient, full of faithful love,
and ready to forgive.

(Book of Joel 2:1-2, 12-13, CEB)

The prophet Joel paints a pretty bleak picture here. The people of Israel were in dire straits: Their land was covered with locust swarms so enormous and destructive that it seemed the oft-foretold 'Day of the Lord' was here.  Their grain and produce were utterly devastated, leaving trees so bare and fields so denuded that a raging fire couldn't have done more damage. The sun was darkened by huge, billowing clouds of the insects that were found as well in every food bowl and every bed in every person's home. 

This was the worst possible catastrophe for an agricultural people -- perhaps as bad as a tsunami, a nuclear reactor meltdown, a worldwide economic meltdown.

The 'Day of the Lord' is always close at hand.  It's not just an epic eschatological event.  Even if our particular nation happens to be prospering and none of our sons and daughters are fighting overseas, even if for some brief blip in history the entire globe is by some fluke safe and happy, the 'Day of the Lord' can fall upon any one of us in an instant.

Cancer or a cerebral hemorrhage can take our beloved ones away before we can say 'good bye.' Job loss and doctor bills can force us into homelessness or bankruptcy.  Just as a follower of Jesus lives in his Kingdom here and now (Letter to the Colossians, chapter 1 verse 13, CEB) and our life is being judged here and now (First Letter of Peter, chapter 4 verse 17, CEB), so the Day of the Lord can get extremely "near" to each of us, just as it did to Joel's people. Any of us can be engulfed in, "a day of darkness and no light/ a day of clouds and thick darkness."

So, does that mean people assailed by bankruptcy or tsunamis are being punished for their sins -- or the sins of their nation, as some would have it? According to the one who teaches us about such things, Jesus of Nazareth, it's a bit more nuanced than that (see the Gospel of Luke chapter 13 for details).  It's not that those people over there are sinners and should repent, it's that we are all sinners and we should all be repenting -- bankruptcy, Tower of Siloam, and tsunami or not.

Which brings us to Lent. As I've been allowing some famous Christians to hint at for the past 3 Lenten Sundays, to follow the Messiah is to repent. At its most basic, Christianity involves humility and self-renunciation.  Everyone who wants to serve the Messiah needs to carve this inscription into their hearts: "Say no yourself, take up your cross, and follow me," (Gospel of Mark, chapter 8 verse 34, CEB).

But it's not "fasting", "weeping", and "tearing your heart" for their own sakes. Lent also tells us that even when we are in the depths of our darkest sin or our most awful suffering, even when we are in our own Day of the Lord, our God calls out to us with those heart-stopping words: "Yet even now..."

Yet even now, at the end of our rope, at the end of our lives, there is still rescue and forgiveness and eternal life. We are ever called, down to the very last second, to, "Return to the Lord your God/ for he is merciful and compassionate/ very patient, full of faithful love/ and ready to forgive."

~~~

This is stop number 20 on the Lenten Blog Tour, in which 41 bloggers give 41 reflections on Lent using the new Common English Bible. Check in each day from Ash Wednesday to Easter Monday for more.

Self-Reunciation, Part III

(Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects, the first 3 weeks about self-renunciation and the following 3 weeks on spiritual formation. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, spells out just what self-renunciation means.)

Third Sunday of Lent

"'If any man will come after me, let him renounce himself and follow me,' (Gospel of Matthew 16.24).

"This implies:

1. A thorough conviction that we are not our own, that we are not the proprietors of ourselves or anything we enjoy, that we have no right to dispose of our goods, bodies, souls, or any of the actions or passions of them.

2. A solemn resolution to act suitably to this conviction: Not to live to ourselves, not to pursue our own desires, not to please ourselves, nor to suffer our own will to be any principle of action to us."

-- John Wesley, Forms of Prayer for Every Day of the Week (Preface)

Self- Renunciation, Part II

(Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects, the first 3 weeks about self-renunciation and the next 3 weeks on spiritual formation. On Easter the subject will be the resurrection of Christ.)

Second Sunday of Lent

"MY CHILD, I will teach you now the way of peace and true liberty. Seek, child, to do the will of others rather than your own. Always choose to have less rather than more. Look always for the last place and seek to be beneath all others. Always wish and pray that the will of God be fully carried out in you. Behold, such will enter into the realm of peace and rest."

--Thomas a' Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
Book 3, Chapter 23

Self- Renunciation, Part I

(Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects, the first 3 weeks about self-renunciation and the next 3 weeks on spiritual formation. On Easter the subject will be the resurrection of Christ.)

First Sunday of Lent

"A sickly self-love, full of pity for itself, cannot be touched without screaming. Touch it with the end of your finger and it thinks itself flayed alive. Then add to this sensitiveness the roughness of other people, full of imperfections unknown to themselves, their disgust at our defects (at least as great as ours toward theirs), and you find all the children of Adam tormenting one another: Half of mankind made unhappy by the other half, and rendering them miserable in their turn.

"The only remedy is to come out of one's self in order to find peace. We must renounce ourselves and lose all self-interest that we may no longer have anything to lose, to fear, or to contrive. Then we shall enjoy the true peace reserved for "men of good will," that is for those who have no longer any will but God's, which becomes theirs. Then men will not be able to harm us, they can no longer attack us through our hopes or our fears. Then we are willing to accept everything, and we refuse nothing."

-- Archbishop Francois Fenelon, Spiritual Letters