LENT – A SEASON OF NO ILLUSIONS

Dear Friends in Christ:

When we were getting ready to move to Buffalo in 1988, I purchased a tee shirt that said, "Buffalo - City of No Illusions."

In the 19 years that we have lived in Western New York, it has become clear to me that the tee shirt was wrong. Buffalo has many illusions, as does every other place in the world. And each of us has illusions as well, just like everybody else in the world. I believe that it is our illusions that get in the way of a deeper relationship with God. We cling to the illusion that we can manage our lives with no help from others – not even God – and our lives become more and more unmanageable. We cling to the illusion that a new job or moving to a new town or getting new friends will make our lives perfect and we discover, if we get any of those new things, that the problem was not out there but in us, that we are the same old persons that have always been.

We are invited in Lent to let go of those illusions and to embrace the reality of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.  It is only that love that can free us of our need for our illusions. It is only that love that can bring order to our disordered lives. It is only that love that can transform our old selves into new creations in Christ. During Lent we are invited to make room for God in our daily lives, to take time to be present with God so that we might know God’s presence more powerfully. During Lent we are invited to clear up some of the clutter in lives so that there would be more room for God. During Lent we are invited to turn away from those bad habits, those sins that keep us from moving into a deeper relationship with God.

In all three of the Synoptic Gospels we can read this warning from Jesus: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” But it is not only an attachment to riches than can keep us from enjoying the abundant life of the Kingdom of God. Enjoyment of the abundant life here and now can be blocked by all sorts of attachments – to our popularity – to our success – to wanting to be right (that’s one of mine!) Anything that we cling to can get in the way of our relationship with God. Lent gives us a time, space in which we can let go of those attachments and make room for God. The incredible thing is that as we let go of these unhealthy attachments, God gives us new and healthy relationships in their place. Letting go of an unhealthy attachment to success doesn’t mean that we will no longer succeed; it means that our successes are no longer the most important things in our lives.

My prayer for us this Lent is that find ways to make more room for God in our lives and in our life together and experience God’s love for us more and more,

Your brother and priest,

Daniel