Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5th. Are you ready for a time of examination or fasting? I have a feeling that what we really need in the world right now is a centering and unifying peace...and maybe a little bit of silence.
Have you ever practiced contemplative prayer? It's the Christian form of meditation. We sit, and breathe, and listen, and open our heart to God. Ellen Birx explains that silent meditation offers the space to practice "not knowing." Birx explains, “Not knowing is not the opposite of knowing. Not knowing is not ignorance. Ignorance is thinking you know when you don’t...Not knowing is opening to the whole of life, what you agree with and what you disagree with, your truth and the truths of others. Not knowing is appreciating how God manifests in other people and listening to them without judging them.” In meditation we rest in the knowledge that God works through all things to bring about shalom for all of creation, including me and you.
How can we expect to see God at work doing something new, if we hold so tightly to what we know? Father Richard Rohr puts it this way: "The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty."
"You of little faith!" Jesus said, "Why did you doubt?"
In our Lenten worship, we will be introduced to the use of a meditation bowl during the voluntary at the start of our service. The ringing of the bowl resonates with the sound of a voice or handbell. Using this tone during prayer helps us to have an aural representation of our unvoiced intercessions.
Let our openness ground us in faith to a moment of knowing Jesus in a new way this Lent. If you are feeling unsteady and worried about what will happen next, Lent is the perfect time to institute a new prayer practice and turn those needs over to Jesus. I don't know exactly how it happens, but I do know that once you let go of your desires to fix or complete something, and ask for God to move and fix or bring this thing to completion, our God will answer if we are open to receiving it.
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