Our opening Collect is a prayer asking God to keep us outwardly and inwardly; defending us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul…bringing to our awareness that adversity can come at us from two directions.
Today’s gospel reading opens with two rather perplexing and distressing examples of dying suddenly and unprepared. Biblical scholars tell us that nothing further is known of the Galileans murdered by Pilate nor the victims of the collapse of the tower of Siloam; details of those disasters are lost in the mists of time. We can presume, however, that these events were known to the ancient audiences of Luke’s gospel.
In this central section of Luke’s narrative, Jesus is on a prophetic journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, preaching and teaching along the way. Crowds have gathered to hear him speak. Some of those present bring up the fate of some Galileans brutally murdered by Pilate while they were at prayer in the Temple in Jerusalem. Were they sinners? Did they deserve their fate?
Jesus speaks clearly to his listeners. These were random events, not meant as examples of divine punishment. These people did not die because they were sinners. They died because life is fragile and unpredictable.
Jesus addresses those of us who have survived thus far. We should not mistake our good fortune for God’s special blessing. He repeats twice, for emphasis: Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.
Perish has a double meaning. We can perish both outwardly and inwardly: the concrete death of the body, and the abstract death of the soul. As we prayed in the collect of the day: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls.
Jesus is speaking of death in an eschatological (end time) sense—the destruction of the soul. The warning is unmistakable: Repent before it is too late.
Our souls should be of concern to us. What we feed our souls — through what we watch, what we read, what we listen to — who we hang out with and how we spend our time — should be of concern to us.
Anything can happen at any time. Watching the news on any given day reminds us of this. Wildfires, floods, terrorism—a cancer diagnosis. Awareness of life’s fragility should create within us a different way of living.
If you live thinking, “Well, I will attend to those things another day —( those things that affect your soul),” and you may suddenly find you have delayed too long.
Yet while we live, it is not too late. Jesus follows his warning of the need to repent with the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In the parable, bearing fruit is an image of repentance. This tree may continue to live without bearing fruit because it has been granted additional time, unlike the victims of the disasters in the first part of the passage. The gardener in the parable is a good steward of souls. Give them another chance, offer them some support, perhaps they will see the light and produce. But unless the tree makes good use of the additional time, the result will be its destruction. Time to repent, like life itself, is not infinite.
So, how are you using your time?
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, in contrast, depicts a time when God punished those who have actually failed to be faithful, through the sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, or complaining.
Today’s passage follows the section in which Paul addresses the question of whether Christians may eat food that has been sacrificed to idols. He is critical of those who boast that they have special wisdom or knowledge of correct religious practice. Paul warns us: So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.
It is easy to become complacent in our lives. To feel as if we do not need to come to church— we don’t need to study our Bible — we don’t need to participate in the community of the parish. I mean, we have been doing it all our lives. What could possibly be new?
Be careful Paul reminds the Corinthians. Falling; being tempted, failure to be faithful can happen to any of us at any time.
But, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (I Corinthians 10: 13) God is patient, forgiving, even hopeful for humankind, but that does not negate our responsibility to be aware and mindful of ourselves.
Lent is a season of repentance. Of being mindful of ourselves. It is uncomfortable for many. Turning inward; examining ourselves; expressing remorse about one’s wrongdoing — even recognizing our wrongdoing —can be difficult. One of the collects of this season that is used in Morning Prayer always makes me smile as I say it, even as I acknowledge its accuracy — the words seem so antiquated or harsh — and yet they are accurate. It says, Lord create in us new and contrite hearts…we worthily admit and acknowledge our wretchedness…
Acknowledging our wretchedness is something that we tend to shy away from.
The gospel passage and our Epistle, are all about us being aware of the precariousness of life. Of us being aware of our needs to be mindful of ourselves — of what we are doing —and being aware lest we should fall into sin.
What does repentance look like for you in this time of uncertainty, when we can control so little, when injustice and seemingly unfair things continue to happen to the world, ourselves, and those around us?
Maybe start with acknowledging your own wretchedness.
Maybe use these days to be as kind and helpful as possible in daily life. Work toward being compassionate, aware, conscious, putting others before yourself. Be a fertile part of this community, even when it’s not necessarily easy or convenient.
Repentance is not a one-and-done occurrence. As Paul writes, if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.Repentance is ongoing, a daily, even hourly, process. In the face of life’s fragility, unpredictability, and urgency, let us consider repentance as a practice. It truly isn’t just seasonal.
Beginning with a Lenten practice, may we begin to consider and act upon the ways we can contribute to our communities. A smile, a compliment. An act of kindness and help. Generosity, financial and with presence. Do not under estimate the gift of your presence in others lives. Make time for it. Keeping our planet healthy in ways large and small. What can you do to reduce some waste this week as part of honoring God’s creation? Honoring creation helps remind us that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
Jesus teaches us that a disaster could happen at any time, through no fault of our own. Paul reminds us that a failure to be faithful could happen to anyone. In either case, we must be vigilant and humble, and we must repent. These are the messages of Lent. Our time is running out. May we live our lives in a state of repentance.
Maybe we pray, in the words of Saint Francis, who had much to say about a repentant spiritual life:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Today’s gospel reading opens with two rather perplexing and distressing examples of dying suddenly and unprepared. Biblical scholars tell us that nothing further is known of the Galileans murdered by Pilate nor the victims of the collapse of the tower of Siloam; details of those disasters are lost in the mists of time. We can presume, however, that these events were known to the ancient audiences of Luke’s gospel.
In this central section of Luke’s narrative, Jesus is on a prophetic journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, preaching and teaching along the way. Crowds have gathered to hear him speak. Some of those present bring up the fate of some Galileans brutally murdered by Pilate while they were at prayer in the Temple in Jerusalem. Were they sinners? Did they deserve their fate?
Jesus speaks clearly to his listeners. These were random events, not meant as examples of divine punishment. These people did not die because they were sinners. They died because life is fragile and unpredictable.
Jesus addresses those of us who have survived thus far. We should not mistake our good fortune for God’s special blessing. He repeats twice, for emphasis: Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.
Perish has a double meaning. We can perish both outwardly and inwardly: the concrete death of the body, and the abstract death of the soul. As we prayed in the collect of the day: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls.
Jesus is speaking of death in an eschatological (end time) sense—the destruction of the soul. The warning is unmistakable: Repent before it is too late.
Our souls should be of concern to us. What we feed our souls — through what we watch, what we read, what we listen to — who we hang out with and how we spend our time — should be of concern to us.
Anything can happen at any time. Watching the news on any given day reminds us of this. Wildfires, floods, terrorism—a cancer diagnosis. Awareness of life’s fragility should create within us a different way of living.
If you live thinking, “Well, I will attend to those things another day —( those things that affect your soul),” and you may suddenly find you have delayed too long.
Yet while we live, it is not too late. Jesus follows his warning of the need to repent with the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In the parable, bearing fruit is an image of repentance. This tree may continue to live without bearing fruit because it has been granted additional time, unlike the victims of the disasters in the first part of the passage. The gardener in the parable is a good steward of souls. Give them another chance, offer them some support, perhaps they will see the light and produce. But unless the tree makes good use of the additional time, the result will be its destruction. Time to repent, like life itself, is not infinite.
So, how are you using your time?
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, in contrast, depicts a time when God punished those who have actually failed to be faithful, through the sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, or complaining.
Today’s passage follows the section in which Paul addresses the question of whether Christians may eat food that has been sacrificed to idols. He is critical of those who boast that they have special wisdom or knowledge of correct religious practice. Paul warns us: So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.
It is easy to become complacent in our lives. To feel as if we do not need to come to church— we don’t need to study our Bible — we don’t need to participate in the community of the parish. I mean, we have been doing it all our lives. What could possibly be new?
Be careful Paul reminds the Corinthians. Falling; being tempted, failure to be faithful can happen to any of us at any time.
But, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (I Corinthians 10: 13) God is patient, forgiving, even hopeful for humankind, but that does not negate our responsibility to be aware and mindful of ourselves.
Lent is a season of repentance. Of being mindful of ourselves. It is uncomfortable for many. Turning inward; examining ourselves; expressing remorse about one’s wrongdoing — even recognizing our wrongdoing —can be difficult. One of the collects of this season that is used in Morning Prayer always makes me smile as I say it, even as I acknowledge its accuracy — the words seem so antiquated or harsh — and yet they are accurate. It says, Lord create in us new and contrite hearts…we worthily admit and acknowledge our wretchedness…
Acknowledging our wretchedness is something that we tend to shy away from.
The gospel passage and our Epistle, are all about us being aware of the precariousness of life. Of us being aware of our needs to be mindful of ourselves — of what we are doing —and being aware lest we should fall into sin.
What does repentance look like for you in this time of uncertainty, when we can control so little, when injustice and seemingly unfair things continue to happen to the world, ourselves, and those around us?
Maybe start with acknowledging your own wretchedness.
Maybe use these days to be as kind and helpful as possible in daily life. Work toward being compassionate, aware, conscious, putting others before yourself. Be a fertile part of this community, even when it’s not necessarily easy or convenient.
Repentance is not a one-and-done occurrence. As Paul writes, if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.Repentance is ongoing, a daily, even hourly, process. In the face of life’s fragility, unpredictability, and urgency, let us consider repentance as a practice. It truly isn’t just seasonal.
Beginning with a Lenten practice, may we begin to consider and act upon the ways we can contribute to our communities. A smile, a compliment. An act of kindness and help. Generosity, financial and with presence. Do not under estimate the gift of your presence in others lives. Make time for it. Keeping our planet healthy in ways large and small. What can you do to reduce some waste this week as part of honoring God’s creation? Honoring creation helps remind us that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
Jesus teaches us that a disaster could happen at any time, through no fault of our own. Paul reminds us that a failure to be faithful could happen to anyone. In either case, we must be vigilant and humble, and we must repent. These are the messages of Lent. Our time is running out. May we live our lives in a state of repentance.
Maybe we pray, in the words of Saint Francis, who had much to say about a repentant spiritual life:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.