Another Lent—what will be different for you?
The Biblical flood narrative all too familiar to us reflects being responsible for choices we make. Along with turning away from God’s will by Adam and Eve in Garden of Eden, the flood narrative is a powerful reflection of how sin affects all of creation. Speaking Eden; it is where we first learned how to pass the buck and rationalize our behavior. God asked Adam who told you to eat that fruit? Adam said, the woman made me, Eve said did not Adam did too, Eve then said it’s not my fault-the serpent made me do it.
Some years later Adam was walking with his sons Cain and Abel. They passed by the ruins of the Garden of Eden. One of the boys asked, “What’s that?” Adam replied, “Well boys, that’s where your mother gave into temptation —and ate us out of house and home”. Passing the buck became imbued in our behavior since Eden fell.
Temptation and the effect of sin are also obvious themes in our readings throughout Lent—the challenge of our integrity as Christians. When I sin or when you sin, often we drive ourselves out of a peace-filled Eden into turmoil. We might make believe that there is nothing wrong with us and try to rationalize our actions. However, we are conflicted-fractured within—because we know better. But when we fight off temptation, we feel at peace within—a sort of joy.
As a priest, I have a very humbling experience to walk with people from a life of interior conflict into one of wholeness and peace. Most often, such a joyful experience takes place in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. In the Sacrament, the priest is representing the person of Christ forgiving sins, and a witness to a person becoming whole through forgiveness and becoming one again with the Church—the Body of Christ–a powerful cleansing and transformation take place.
It is humbling because I am acutely aware of my own weakness. At the same time, it is a beautiful experience to be part of a person becoming fully united when the moral and spiritual parts of his or her life are returned to trusting God and being cleansed and healed. Such integrity and wholeness is a focus of Lent- to look within ourselves—taking a personal inventory: Have I rationalized away my culpability/responsibility for actions I know are wrong? How do I witness my morality to my children/family—in the workplace?
We can easily rationalize bad behavior—which may even become bad habits—just by telling ourselves, well everyone else does it. We know that popular behavior does not make an action right or moral. That is a slippery slope. Unless I am truthful about my choices and actions, my integrity can be compromised, and I can be reduced to someone who is less spiritual—less loving. If I am honest with God and myself, then I have to admit that there were times when I have not behaved as I should, shown enough compassion toward others, or could have been more generous with my blessings, that come from God.
At such times we can feel unhappy with ourselves—and guess what that does to our view of others in our lives—and our view of life itself? The Lord does not want us living with such inner pain. He wants us to be fully whole and at peace within ourselves.
An expression of that wholeness and peace is found in the Letter of St. Peter today. We hear how the water of the flood was a precursor to the cleansing of baptism—now that’s a lot of holy water! He then goes on to say: “Baptism is not a removal of dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a clear conscience…” What a gift a clear conscience is— available to us in the beautiful sacrament of grace—of forgiveness freely given by God through—Confession and Reconciliation.
The world becomes a better place because we become better people through Christ’s loving forgiveness. A part of becoming a better people and a better church includes the addition of our catechumen-candidates that will be received by you officially for the first time this weekend for your blessing to send them to our Bishop Sunday afternoon for the Rite of Acceptance in their continued journey of faith. They bless us with their saying yes to walk with us as Catholics—a highlight of our Lenten journey together. Please continue to pray for them and their families.
Lent is not based what food we give up, what prayers we say, what charity we practice—all of those things are important. However, our focus should be on our truthfulness, the harmony and unity of our moral and spiritual lives. Such unity comes through forgiveness, in the peace and love that come through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit in God the Father. Lent is based on new life—in you and me and in our new members that will be joining us officially at Easter. Get a fresh start this Lent come to the Sacrament and let your conscience be made clean and fresh!