Sermon 090301

Sermon 03/01/09
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

From Ashes to Fire
"Love says, 'I am everything.'

Wisdom says, 'I am nothing.'

Between these two my life flows."

- Sri Nisargadatta

We have entered the liturgical season of Lent. We cycle through this season every year. Like so many of the cycles of life it is a journey of the Spirit. Our annual trip around the sun and the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall; the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth we are in the midst of; the daily movement of the earth as it rotates and gives us our daily circle of day and night; the journey of the breath as it enters and then leaves our bodies; these all bring us back around to where we have been before, yet there is a difference. By entering into these cycles with awareness and intentionality we deepen the mystery and nurture our own growth.

What are your associations with Lent?

Lent is traditionally a time for penitence (i.e. self-denial, suffering, repenting, etc.) lasting forty days.

Forty days of Lent:

Flood story in Genesis

Wandering in the wilderness in Exodus

Jonah led the Ninevites through forty days of penance

Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness

It's purpose is to prepare us for transformation.

Intuition: There is work (spiritual discipline) we can do, must do, in order to grow. We can enter into this time, this season, intentionally and mindfully.

Traditionally, the spiritual disciplines of Lent were

Prayer Fasting Almsgiving

For one's soul For one's body For one's neighbor

Connect with God Connect with self Connect with others

Our spiritual task is to honor and deepen these connections during this season of Lent.
1) Prayer

Honoring and deepening our connection to God/Spirit.

Possibilities include:

Meditation, breathing, journaling,

slowing down and sitting still,

opening to all that is with acceptance and compassion,

spending time in nature.

Lent invites us to do this daily, for the next forty days, with the intention of honoring and deepening our connection to God/Spirit.
2) Fasting

Honoring and deepening our connection to our self, our body.

This is not a denial of the body or a mortification of the flesh!

A call to consider what feeds and nurtures the unique physical incarnation of love and light that we each are. It's also an opportunity to explore our relationship to food and to our body. We need to be careful here: issues of self-esteem and food related pathologies, etc. There is no one-size-fits-all practice to follow. Chart your own course. However, acting with a concern for balance and respect for one's self and one's body seems helpful for all of us.

Possibilities include:

Eating more sustainably, organically, and lower down on the food chain.

Transforming mealtimes into slower, more thoughtful and more positive experiences.

Being mindful of what comes out of your mouth as well as what goes in! This might mean only speaking positively to and about yourself and others. Example: turn negative self-judgments into positive affirmations.

Exercise more, more often, or differently.

Go to the doctor or dentist for a check-up.

Notice your body more, pay attention to sensations, stresses, tensions and relaxations, etc.

Choose a fast that will honor and deepen your connection with yourself.
3) Almsgiving

The invitation to honor and deepen our connection to others and to the world.

This is an opportunity to share with others the blessings that we enjoy and it begins and ends with joy and gratitude! This isn't solely about money. It can be about giving of your time or any action that benefits others or the world. But there is the opportunity here to explore our relationship to money.

Possibilities:

Give to church and charities (I will see that you have this opportunity every week). One Great Hour of Sharing will be coming up towards the end of Lent, too.

Do something kind and loving for someone who irks you.

Curb our own irksome habits.

Do an additional chore at home without being asked.

Make our relationships richer without regard for reciprocation.

Donate additional time to community service (see Faith Clay about this one).

When we give let us give our of joy and gratitude with the intention of honoring and deepening our connections with our neighbors, especially with those who are in need. This will make all of us richer.
Final Suggestions

Know yourself: choose a realistic way to participate in Lent.

Aim for a regular, daily practice. (This may mean cutting something out to make time for your chosen practice.)

Enlist the aid of a partner in keeping yourself accountable. Put a reminder to yourself in a visible place around the house.

Celebrate your successes; do not punish yourself for your failures.

Remember that the purpose of spiritual discipline is to honor and deepen your sense of connection with yourself, with God, with one another, indeed with all of life.

Have a blessed Lent.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

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