Am I outrunning fatty foods or running towards God in Lent?

Lent is a time to reflect on who we are, and how we are growing or becoming who we are meant to be. It is wise not to focus too much on the temptations themselves, or they can become the object of our attention, rather than God. For instance, if we are focussed on not eating chocolate, chocolate can become the ‘enemy’, our Lent fast is a battle between us and chocolate.

But eating chocolate does not stop me growing into God. So, maybe I have to look at what I am actually giving up at Lent, asking myself why I am giving it up. Am I trying to get control of my weight or my health by this fasting? Well, they are quite good aims, but they are not God.  They are actually about being in control of my bod. And when you think about it, that is rather self-focussed, as well as often just surrendering to the cultural norms about beauty.

Maybe this fasting Jesus underwent was not about self-control, but surrender to the very different value world of God and the kingdom. He refused to use his God-given powers to feed himself, when the power was to feed others, to heal others, to encourage others into the kingdom.

So maybe the first thing to do in the Lent time is to reflect on what I am doing to build the Kingdom of God. What God-given powers do I have to share with others?

                Hmmm… that is a bit of a challenge. But then, God promises us the Holy Spirit to give us what we need.

That means I could possibly ask for a little more compassion and go and visit one person a week in the nursing home, and encourage that person to realise she or he is still a part of the parish, still avital member of the kingdom.

                So, we are asked to look at who we think we are in Lent: take our attention away from the surface things that are wrong with us—overweight, unfit, etc and look at who we truly are. What is God calling me to be in His kingdom?  What do I need to change in my attitudes that is stopping me becoming everything God wants for me?

                Nicodemus is searching for God– he partly recognises the authority of Jesus, but he is still trapped in attitudes of surface materialism. He is what could be called a black and white thinker, or a fundamentalist. He has no time in his world view for things that he can’t touch see or feel. The rules, for him, are simple. Follow the commandments or become impure. But Jesus showed that the commandments, although good, are insufficient by themselves. Hungry disciples need to pluck grain on the sabbath, people should be healed on the sabbath as well as any other day. The law of love and mercy is always greater than the other laws.

                And love, of course, is not something that we can see, touch or describe easily. It is an abstract concept. We can’t paint a picture of love without putting at least two human figures in the frame because we know love only when it is expressed in concrete human actions or words. Love can be known through others and it can be experienced in the heart, but unlike blood cells, it cannot be measured or seen under a microscope.

When we do something in love for the building of God’s kingdom, then we start to move out

of the current cultural world of material values which are invariably focussed on self and independence. Being born again doesn’t necessarily mean there will be an overwhelming spiritual experience, but it means coming to see, day by day as a child grows day by day, the world around us.
 

And that world, Jesus says to Nicodemus, is one very different from this world based on self, violence, getting ahead by pushing others down, or getting comfortable by simply ignoring others.

 The new world needs us to rethink who we are and what our purpose is.

                But, we can almost hear Nicodemus saying, isn’t religion just about following rules and making sure the church bills are paid and everything runs?

                No, says Jesus. Religion (literally ‘binding together’) is about each individual coming to new life as they realise they are loved by God, and are interdependent with everyone else. True religion is about a transformation of our material human sense of community, to another whole sense of community where all are valued as children of the one God. And that means I have to change my attitude from seeing things my way, and actually forgiving and having compassion on those I don’t like.

                In our human capacity we can do little, we are subject to fear and temptation and inadequacy. But, says Jesus, the new birth comes from the Spirit as well.  And we can ask the Spirit of live between God and humans, to live and grow in us. And gradually we start to live, not for the world, but for God and the Spirit while we are in the world.  

                Life is often confusing and complex. But Jesus says: “Stop worrying about it and look to see where I am in the world, where the Spirit is blowing. Recognise that you are not alone, that I am here. Stop trying to think your way through things and start loving your way through difficulties.  The world doesn’t always make sense, and trying to make sense of it can stop us simply responding to God and others in love”.

                We can’t box God, people or life, into neat definitions. It takes humility to let go of asking ’why’ and trying to define things.

But humility + love = peace.  In the end, love is enough, and if you love, you are enough. Amen.