THE GLOOMY THOUGHTS OF OUR MORTALITY IN LENT LEAD TO THE NEW LIFE OF RESURRECTION IN CHRIST
Lent is a period of a Caterpillar being transformed to a new life of Butterfly – Easter! Those of us who are familiar with the life cycle of a butterfly would know the ugly Caterpillar enters into a cyst and sinks in the darkness. In that darkness, it goes through a very painful transformation and comes out with flying colors, a Butterfly. Someone has said, “Character is made at night, courage is who you are in the dark.” We often speak about the exotic Butterfly, even use it in metaphors that express human freedom and beauty, but there is something very significant about this idea of Caterpillar encapsulating in darkness (chrysalis) being the measure of recognition, what is really real, and of who Caterpillar is. It certainly is true that often it is in the darkness that we most deeply realize that we are the possessors of the valuable and incomparable gift of life. We heard on Ash Wednesday these gloomy words that express our mortality, “remember that you are dust, and to the dust you shall return”.
We all have dreams and desires about our future: a life without worry, pain, sorrow, conflict or war. In our luxury focused and success obsessed society these gloomy words: ‘remember that you are dust, and to the dust you shall return’ can hardly be a blue print for our lives. Still, a real challenge is to strive for a peaceful life in the middle of our many struggles. By embracing the reality of our vulnerability, our faith asserts, we can succeed in creating such a peaceful world, the reign of God. The Apostle Paul expresses this powerfully when he writes, “We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. We face death every day because of Jesus. Our bodies show what his death was like, so that his life can also be seen in us. This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you” (2 Corinthians 4: 8-12 [J.B. Phillips]).
Lent is a special season that exposes our mortality and in the midst of pain, suffering, and sorrows we discern the loving presence of God in Christ. Our mortality opens for us the vision of light and life that God in and through Christ has promised us: “when anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 [Good News Bible]).
Spiritual discipline is the other side of Lent. ‘Discipline is building boundaries that keep time and space open for God.’ Here are those spiritual disciplines stated explicitly in the Gospel of Matthew (6:1-6, 16-21): Prayer, alms giving and fasting. Prayer requires discipline, fasting requires discipline, caring for others (alms giving) requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to. What, if we don’t keep these disciplines? God’s mercy is greater than our trespasses and transgressions. Let us not be pre-occupied with our failures rather let us bring to the cross our failures, frustrations, disappointments, and struggles in confession and be reconciled with God. Let us strive honestly to deepen our identity in Christ who knows intimately the hurts and sorrows of this life (Hebrews 4:15) and he will lead us to the glorious wonder of Easter, a life of a new creation!
I wish you all a holy season of Lent!
Fr. Paul Collins
Lent 2009