Day 16 of Lent :: The Gift of Friendship

“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If they fall down, they can help each other up.
But pity those who fall
and have no one to help them up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Within each of us, there remains in our hearts, things that we ourselves cannot see. We may be able to articulate our gifts and weakness, our ambitions and aspirations, our motives and drives, but large parts of ourselves remain in the shadow of consciousness. Other people, especially those who love us, can often see these areas in us better than we ourselves can. The way we are seen and understood by others is different from the way we see and understand ourselves. Nouwen called these hidden areas of our hearts “twilight zones.” It is the “twilight zones” of our hearts, he says, where true friendship is born. (Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey, 24)

Prayer: Loving God, take my poor offering of friendship and remind me every day of your invitation to journey with you to the Easter miracle of the Resurrection. Allow me to accept the weaknesses and defects that you and others see in me, but which are hidden from me. Lift me up when I fall, and always let me reach for, not reject, Your outstretched hand of welcome and forgiveness. And, keep my sins and doubts from leaching the joy out of life.

Action: Mentally bless each person you meet today and salute them with loving cheerfulness. Be quick to verbally commend the accomplishments of others just as Christ is quick to commend yours.

The Role of a Teacher

"We are not asked to teach a discipline like mathematics, physics, history or languages, but we are called to make our own faith available to others as the source of learning. To be a teacher means indeed to lay down your life for your friends, to become a 'martyr' in the original sense of witness. To be a teacher means to offer your own faith experience, your loneliness and intimacy, your doubts and hopes, your failures and successes to your students as a context in which they can struggle with their own quest for meaning. To be a teacher means to have the same boldness as Paul, who said to the Corinthians: 'Take me as a model as I take Christ' (1 Cor. 11:1). To be a teacher means to say as those who want to learn what Jesus said to his disciples: 'Come and see' (John 1:39)" - Henri J.M. Nouwen (cited in Wounded Prophet by Michael Ford, 106-107)

Day 15 of Lent :: A Time to Refocus

You open your hand and satisfy
the desires of every living thing.

Psalm 145:16

In Matthew 6, Jesus stressed the hidden life. “Whether we give alms, prayer, or fast,” writes Nouwen, “we are to do it in a hidden way, not to be praised by people but to enter into closer communion with God. Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in many people and things surrounding us, without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want…Lent is a time of refocusing, of reentering the place of truth, of reclaiming our true identity.” (Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year, 36)

Reflection: Take a few moments and think about the past fifteen days of Lent.

• What have you fasted?
  
• What have you given up?
  
• What new patterns and practices have you picked up?
  
• What are some notable observations of what’s been happening within you?

Action: Find a friend and share some of the above observations.

Day 14 of Lent :: Dancing God

Reflection:
How is the God of the Old Testament typically depicted?

What emotions or dispositions frequently come to mind when you think of the God of the Old Testament?

How often do you relate to God (at least subconsciously)
out of this mental model?

The prophet Zephaniah gives us a vivid portrayal of the God of the Old Testament, as One who passionately encircles those in whom He finds pleasure.

“The LORD your God in your midst,
the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Zephaniah was trying to illustrate a stunning picture of the heart and posture of God.

Based on studies of this verse in the Hebrew, let’s look at an expanded interpretation of what this verse is literally saying,

The Lord your God, is the One who created and upholds all things by the power of His word. He is the self-existent and eternal Being, who is in covenant with you. The One and only Giver and Sustainer of life, is not far away and out of reach, rather, He is in your midst, in the very center of where you exist. He is a Mighty One, a Victorious Warrior, who is endowed with salvation and deliverance and has come to help. He does so because He delights over you with great pleasure, joy and even happiness. As He shows forth His love, you become speechless. He is lovesick for you. Because of this lovesickness, He spins around with intense emotion, leaping for joy, dancing as one intoxicated with deep emotion. Enraptured, there’s a cry that rings out from the depths of His being, a song is sung – a song that causes all of creation to tremble, as the notes of His love resonate.

Often times we misconstrue God as a wrath-filled, white-knuckled tyrant on the edge of His throne, anxiously waiting the moment of vengeance. After all, the “God of the Old Testament” is a God of wrath, isn’t He? This isn’t the image Zephaniah communicates. He speaks of a God who so loves us, He can’t stop singing about us. He is a passionate, celebrating, joy-filled Being!

Reflection:
How does this verse challenge some of your internal models of God’s emotional posture towards you?

How could a deep revelation of this verse change
the way you walk throughout your day?

Prayer:
God help me to be consciously aware of You as a passionate, love-sick, God celebrating over Your Universe and even me.

Day 13 of Lent :: Know Thy Lemon

“My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

The University of Northern Iowa once offered a general art course that included a most unusual exercise. The teacher brought to class a shopping bag filled with lemons and gave a lemon to each class member. The assignment was for the student to keep his lemon with him day and night--smelling, handling, examining it. Next class period, without warning, students were told to put their lemons back in the bag. Then each was asked to find his lemon. Surprisingly, most did so without difficulty.

The groundwork of intimacy with God
is often established through
the daily disciplines we engage.

Reflection: When do you feel most intimate with Christ?

What can you do to cultivate this connection with Christ on a daily basis?

Like the lemon assignment given to the students at the University of Northern Iowa, what are some ways you can develop an awareness of Christ throughout your day?

Day 12 of Lent :: Into-me-see

“The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

Luke 2:35

Reflection: Think of a time when you felt really close to God. Take a moment as you reflect and journal about what it was like.

What was going on in your life at that time?

What was special about your time with God?

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.”

(Genesis 2:25)

Intimacy could be defined “in-to-me-see.” Adam and Eve, before the Fall, were both “naked” before each other and “were not ashamed.” Nakedness here wasn’t merely a physical reality, there were bare and open with all of who they were: mind, emotions, and body. They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Adam could completely see-in-to Eve and vice versa. There was no pretense nor hesitation.

The same was true with their relationship with God.

After the Fall, the human race became guarded to one another and God. We are prone to settle for relationship that exist primarily on the surface level. When we exist like this with God and others, we are not functioning as God designed us to function – intimate with Himself and others.

Reflection: What do you think about the statement,

“Our intimacy with God is only as deep
as our intimacy with others?”

Can we truly be intimate with God, while closed off to others?

On the “in-to-me-see” meter, where are you in your relationship with God and others?

Action: This week, approach your relationship with God and others with a purpose not to settle for mere superficial, surface-level interactions. Look for tangible ways to give of yourself to others.

Day 11 of Lent :: The Empty Chair

“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom
one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”

John 13:23

There once was an old man dying of cancer. The old man’s daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “1 guess you were expecting me,” he said. “No, who are you?” “I’m the new associate at your parish,” the priest replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”

“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the priest shut the door. “I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man, “but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head. Finally I said to him one day in sheer frustration, ‘I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.’

“’Here,’ says my pastor reaching into the bottom drawer of his desk. ‘Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He’s a Swiss theologian. It’s the best book on contemplative prayer in the twentieth century.’

“Well, Father,” says the man, “I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pastor, thanked him, and under my breath whispered ‘for nothin’.’

“I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” he continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because He promised, ‘I’ll be with you all days.’ Then just speak to Him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’

“So, Padre, I tried it, and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”

The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the rectory. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.

“Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked. “Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed.”
(Brennan Manning, Lion and Lamb: The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, 129-130.)

Developing intimacy cannot be achieved without
an intentional relationship,
whereby we practice the art of tuning our ears
to hear the Unseen One in the empty chair.

Reflection: Reflect on the portrait of intimacy described in this story. Do you have a similar sense of Christ’s nearness when you pray? Perhaps you’d benefit from doing as He did. Others find a greater sense of intimacy experienced as they write out their prayers to God. This week, explore different ways of engaging God like this.

Action: What and how are you fasting this week?