I WENT TO CHURCH TODAY, and where I parked behind the church against the steep hill rising out of Mission Valley, there is a stone embedded in the hill in front of the parking spot available to me today. It looks like a big eye. Perhaps it was a sign.
So... Today I went to church and must confess (It’s not what you’re thinking)... I confess that I have a problem with the church’s explanation and instruction about the season of Lent. The Order of Worship statement at the top of the church bulletin today began with the following declaration: “The season of Lent is a time for repentance of our sins, meditation and contemplation of Christ’a suffering for us, and preparation for his glorious resurrection at Easter.”
Perhaps after I’ve given the statement more thought, I’ll change my mind; but I think I disagree. There is something remorseful and defeating about beginning the season of Lent by making “repentance for our sins” the primary and first consideration. I know the importance of reflecting on how successfully we have lived in relationship with others... to think about whether and to what extend we have made living easier or more difficult for other people. It is definitely a good idea to recommit ourselves to enhancing rather than complicating the living circumstances of others. I get it. I’m an old man. I got it a long time ago. I discovered that the basic teaching of Jesus, what the church calls the Gospel, “the good news,” is about developing a very personal social ethic that will keep me acutely sensitive to the needs of others, all others, as I go about the business of taking care of myself and my family. “Repentance for my sins” doesn’t adequately say what I think I should be doing when I think about the needs of other people in my city, my state, my country, and in the world. Around fifteen percent of Americans live in relative poverty. The Census Bureau reported in 2011 that 46.2 million Americans live below the official poverty line. That was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it. Gun violence is a major American problem. The U.S. has the highest gun ownership rate in the world with 89 guns for every 100 Americans... compared to 6 in England and Wales. The latest detailed statistics I could find show that there were 12,664 murders in the U.S. Of those, 8,583 were caused by guns. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 16.7 million children under 18 in our country live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life.
I agree that “meditation and contemplation” are important and significant, but I’m not at all sure the focus of my meditation should be of Christ’s suffering for me but of Jesus’ many examples of responsible living, responsible citizenship... and after a lifetime of church attendance, I don’t even know what is meant by “preparation for His glorious resurrection at Easter.”
I like to believe that in the northern hemisphere where I live the season of Lent should be a reminder and celebration of the emergence every spring of life that has been lying dormant through winter... that Lent and springtime are signs of renewal, of life waking up, of energy and preparation and production and the possibility of making life better for all people.
O.K., O.K., O.K., I know I’m nitpicking. I like the statement that had been printed at the top of the church bulletin before the season of Lent began. “First United Methodist Church of San Diego affirms that all individuals, without exception, are of sacred worth. All means all. Guided by God’s love, we seek to journey together in faith toward greater understanding and mutual respect.” I’ll be glad when that expression of faith commitment returns to the top of Sunday morning bulletin.
After lunch I wandered around my neighborhood to look again at the flowering pear trees before the rain that's coming this week washes the blossoms away. The guy in my photograph is my neighbor, Moses. I'm not making this up. Moses is his name. The dogs are Elvis and Presley. I'm not making that up either. Moses and Elvis and Presley are altogether appropriate to include in this BLOG post.
8 comments:
Given Jesus' sayings, isn't it odd that a religion in his name would be so obsessed with what its members feel and believe rather than how they understand the world, treat others, and address injustice?
RB
I totally agree with you, Jerral--as you know!
K.E.
Agree wholeheartedly with your "nitpicking", Jerral - but methinks these are more than just nits :) Same with the bulletin statement - no need to ever remove that.
S.M.
While I do not attend any church or follow the Lenten path I know that added to those you designated as deserving of our attention and aid there are those who bring thoughtfulness into our lives and you top the list of those who do this for me.
M.L.
I agree with you Jerral, as a child growing in Quebec and my family life being controlled by the church we had to follow Lent this imposed circus of things to eat , things not to eat, pray, no sinful thoughts ( as if as a child I knew what a sin was) What is a sin anyways. Chocolate! Sex? Eating meat? Such hypocrisy. My claustrophobia originates from being forced as a child to go into a confessional, dark, gloomy, behind a curtain and tell this man my sins. I never knew what to say as I was paralysed with fear once a week. I still suffer from claustrophobia.
Anielle
As a former Methodist, director of Methodist Student Fellowship at Ohio State, Presbyterian director of Religious Education in Canton, Ohio, wife of a graduate of Iliff School of Theology and short-time Methodist Minister of Religious Education in Willoughby, Ohio, and an active Unitarian for the last more-than-sixty years, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING IN TODAY'S BLOG!
H.T.
As usual your theological response and insight are very helpful, and, in my opinion, spot on. Fred Craddock once remarked that clergy are the keepers of the sacred language. Sometimes we do that, like in your bulletin Sunday, without even the clergy understanding what it means. Perhaps it's time to drop some of the language or at least try to interpret it and reimagine the thoughts behind it, a job you have done very well in today's blog.
In the current Christian Century magazine I read this statistic: "The top 100 billionaires added $240 billion to their wealth in 2012--enough to end world poverty four times over." But, hey, let's give them a little tax break!
Taylor
This quote came across my screen this morning, and I thought of you. Marla
When One tugs at a single thing in Nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
—John Muir
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