“If I forget you, Jerusalem
“We are God’s work of art,
created in Christ Jesus to live the good life, which from the beginning He had
meant us to live it.”
“… but the man who lives by
the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen
that what he does is done in God.”
Our Lenten journey has
arrived at its half-way point and today, we have been invited to rejoice.
To rejoice, obviously,
in the Lord, Who is the source of all our good and of all the goodness around
us.
To rejoice, possibly,
in the fact that there are only three more weeks left of Lent – with St Patrick
and St Joseph to look forward to, who will enable us to break the journey for a
while, and thus help us to persevere … …
There may yet be
something else in which we are invited to rejoice, possibly less obvious, maybe
even unexpected. But today’s readings,
and indeed most of the liturgy we have been celebrating since Lent began, seem
to be calling us to rejoice even in ourselves.
It is easy to
understand such a command to mean that we must love others as much as, or in
the same way and to the same degree as we love ourselves. But could it also dare us to love others as
OURSELVES? – that is, is who we know ourselves to be? And if this is so, is the commandment not
then, even more challenging? For we are
now required to first discover who we truly are, in order that we may indeed
love our neighbour as ourselves? We are
dared to set out on a quest for authenticity – not to spend all our time
self-absorbed by any means – but, nevertheless, to have that desire: to be
true.
All the saints
throughout history have understood that abiding in God: attending to His Word;
immersing themselves in His love, has opened their eyes to the truth about who
they themselves were. And the world has
been a better place because of them.
We could perceive this
season of Lent to be a time when we set ourselves to giving things up; to
restraining ourselves from indulging in habits that aren’t really good for us
anyway. A comfortable way to reassure
ourselves that we are making an effort, perhaps???
Maybe, after all, Lent
is more fundamentally a time for us to be more intent on knowing, on
discovering the truth, about who we really are, in order for us to truly be who
we are. … … …
And what might we
discover if we dare to travel along that path???
That you are God’s work of art;
That He delights in loving you;
That He has created you for
goodness, for joy, for Himself;
That He is waiting to be gracious to
you, if you will only take the time to welcome Him into yourself and allow Him
to speak to your heart (Who, after all, is the only One who truly understands
all that you have to bear – the good and the difficult, and sometimes the bad
and the awful)
Allow yourself to believe in all
that He has in His heart for you.
Abiding in this truth
enables you to see truly, for His love is a radiant light and you are a child
of that same Divine Light. By embracing
that truth and living from it … the world becomes a better place, because you
are in it.
What a very much more
wonderful world it would be, if we only dared to believe.
A Hymn for Lent, by
Richard Baxter (1615 – 1691)
Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve thee is my share,
And this thy grace must give.
If life be long, I will be glad
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?
Christ leads me through no darker
rooms
Than He went through before;
He that into God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.
Come, Lord, when grace has made me
meet
Thy blessed face to see;
For if thy work on earth be sweet,
What will thy glory be?
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ‘tis enough that Christ knows
all
And I shall be with Him.
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