Ready . . . set . . . .

Well, we’re at another spiritual starting-line of sorts, the beginning of another holy season in the life of the Church.  Of course, technically, Lent started a few days ago, but you know what I mean.  And there is always a certain uniqueness about this season, one that draws the attention of not just the Christian faithful who celebrate it, but also those who don’t --- people who watch from the outside and see us doing some different things from our normal routines. 

Maybe that’s something we’ve “given-up”.  Maybe its something extra like some daily Masses or going to Stations of the Cross on Fridays.  And of course, maybe it was receiving ashes a few days ago --- a sign that probably drew some looks from bystanders who weren’t aware that Lent had begun once again.  Yes, this season has us changing our routine.  And it’s only just begun.

Ready . . . . set . . . .

Go?   Is that the next word?   Go?  Is that an appropriate word?  Is that the right word?

Maybe.  That kind of depends on us. 

If we intend to remain exactly the same, then it’s the wrong word.  If we intend to not do much beyond a couple of small things that really don’t demand much from us, then it’s the wrong word.  If we intend to not really think about this season very much at all (except maybe choosing to go meatless on Fridays), then it’s the wrong word. 

But if we want to come out at the end of these forty days different, changed, better, transformed --- then it’s exactly the right word.  Ready . . . . set . . . . go!

But go where?

“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,

and he remained in the desert for forty days . . . ”

As you know, this season is supposed to remind us (and in some respects, mimic) Jesus’ forty days in the desert --- which itself was meant to echo the Israelites flight from Egypt and their forty years of wandering in the desert before reaching the Promised Land.  The Jewish people came out of that experience tested and stronger for it (not without a lot of hardship and conflict along the way though). 

Their identity as a people was made more real to them.  Jesus, in a similar way, came back from his desert experience confident in who he was, committed to his mission.  What might not have been as clear to him as a younger person was now in focus.  And his journey that would end in Jerusalem a few years later could begin. 

And WE begin this holy season and what?  What is the endgame, the goal, the purpose?  Who are we supposed to be when all is said and done, when these forty days are over?

That too, depends on our understanding of this season and our willingness to begin the journey and stay the course --- that is, come off the starting blocks and travel a path designed not by us, but by God.  And the desert God wants us to travel to, wants us to dwell in during this holy time isn’t “out there” somewhere.  It’s not found by simply doing the “externals” of this holy season.  Rather, the Spirit wants to lead us to a desert unique to each of us, a desert within --- within the human heart, the human mind, the human soul.

But it’s not a desert yet.  We’re not empty and barren.  We’re filled with all sorts of stuff, all sorts of things we have mistakenly sought out, all sorts of junk and obstacles we have let build up, all sorts of sin we have embraced.  And so, part of Lent is meant to let God clear out all that stuff, rid us of everything that is weighing us down and holding us back and denying us the ability to be the people God created us to be. 

Therefore, we are called to use this time to reflect on who we are and who we want to be.  We are invited to look deep within and give God “permission” to clear the land, strip us of every single thing that isn’t any good for us.

This is the “spiritual do-over” part of Lent --- the part in which we ask God in Reconciliation to wipe our slate clean, to unclutter our hearts, to prepare us for what comes next.

So what exactly does come next?

The growing of a garden, a new Promised Land, or dare I say, a new Eden --- won for us by the new Adam who took upon himself all the junk, all the pain, all the sin --- so that something beautiful could grow in its place --- a newness of life cultivated in each human heart open to God’s grace.  Think about that for a second.  God wants to get us back to the Garden, wants us to be re-created.  He wants to pour his life into us so that we, in turn, can pour life and love and goodness and mercy into every corner of this world. 

That’s what it means to “believe in the Gospel” as we just heard Jesus tell us (through Mark).  It doesn’t mean just accepting a few faith statements.  It’s so much more than that.  It means accepting every good thing (and every change) God wants for us, holding out hope during challenging times, trusting God’s promises, and believing that we can be so much more today than we were yesterday.  And that journey starts in this very moment.

Ready . . . . . . . . set . . . . . . . . go. 

May we use these forty days to travel deep within, let God clear the land of all the junk, and allow him to grow all sorts of beautiful things in its place. 

Imagine what just such a garden could look like, what just sort of a person each of us could become. 

May each of us have a spiritually fruitful Lent.