Reflection for the first week of Lent

Psalm 130

Out of the depths of despair, O Lord,

I call for your help.

Hear my cry, O Lord.

Pay attention to my prayer.

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,

who, O Lord, could ever survive?

But you offer forgiveness,

that we might learn to fear you.

I am counting on the Lord;

yes, I am counting on him.

I have put my hope in his word.

I long for the lord

more than sentries long for the dawn,

yes more than sentries long for the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

for with the Lord there is unfailing love

and an overflowing supply of salvation.

He himself will free Israel

from every kind of sin.

(New Living Translation)

While Advent was the anticipation of Christ's birth, Lent is the anticipation of Christ's death with the hope and trust in Christ's resurrection that we will celebrate in Easter. Without the wonder of Christ's birth, and the promise of Christ's resurrection, the bleakness of lent would be difficult to bear.

Lent reminds me that death is as integral to life and change as birth and rebirth, and that forgiveness is predicated on letting the past die. This time of year, with spring just around the corner, I am also reminded of how the death of last year's growing things will nurture and turn into the upcoming year's blossoming. The natural cycle of day and night and of the seasons, as the psalmist reminds us, are just a fraction of the divine cycle of our universal living. The longing for that daybreak, or, more magnificently, of our connection with God, is part of our hopeful orientation.

Embracing the changing nature of life means embracing death at every moment, in large and small ways, without closing oneself to the promise of new life -- indeed, at every step to be oriented to new life while taking the time to not only honor but to make a clean break with the past in order to move on and fully embrace the future. The paradox of dying into new life is central to christian living; as the ritual of baptism symbolizes, it is in giving up one's own life that eternal life is gained.

An important part of death is mourning, and lent gives us the opportunity to set aside some time for grieving. Grief is a process of letting go of something or someone precious that is no more, or that cannot move into the future with us. The practice of forgiveness, for example, requires that we let go of a justice-oriented tally of past sins (our own or others'). Letting go of them, rather than repressing them, requires a process by which to honor our own needs and feelings. During this lenten season, we are given an opportunity grieve and let go as we repent and turn toward God.

Questions for reflection

l What am I longing for today? Do I notice God's presence in this longing?

l Is there anything I can let go of in order to more fully turn toward the divine and toward forgiveness?

l How am I caring for myself in this season of grieving and letting go so that the future can blossom with fullness of joy?