Readings:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25; Psalm 1
Moses said to the people, ‘See, today I set before you life and I set before you life or death, blessing prosperity, death and disaster… I set or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them’.
Deuteronomy 30:15,19-20
To all Jesus said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves and take up their cross every day and follow me. For all who want to save their lives will lose them; but those who lose their lives for my sake will find life. What gain, then, is it for anyone to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined their very self?‘
Luke 9:23-25
Moses gave this message to the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness. The message is being given to us on our journey: ‘Choose life, not death.’ It seems an unnecessary piece of advice, for what sane person would choose death?
It is a very useful exercise to take a piece of paper, divide it into two columns, one headed ‘Events which bring me to life’, and the other ‘Events which deaden me’, then scribble down whatever comes to mind. Keep the list, and add to it whenever another item occurs to you. If you persist, the list will lengthen, and you may discover that you give more time and attention to the things which deaden than to those which enliven.
It is also good to reflect on your list in light of the statement ‘We are created to praise, reverence and serve God.’ Then ask of each item on your list, is it this which brings me to life, or do I only come to life when creation is praising, reverencing and serving me? Does everything deaden me which is not promoting my praise, my self-importance, my comfort and security? This self-centredness is the way of death: God-centredness is the way of life. That is what Jesus is saying in Luke 9:24, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves, and take up their cross every day and follow me. For all who want to save their lives will lose them; but those who lose their lives for my sake, will find life. What gain, then, is it for anyone to have won the whole world and to have ruined their very self?’
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves.’
These words, taken out of context, have caused havoc in many Christians’ lives, focusing attention on renunciation, as though this was something good in itself. Then Lent is thought of as the time for giving up more things than usual, God is seen as being most pleased with us when we are giving ourselves a hard time, and holiness is measured by our ability to endure suffering. This is a total distortion of Jesus’ message. The renunciation which he demands is a renunciation of all those things which deaden us, so that we may live more fully, and to live more fully is to be freed from self-preoccupation so that we can delight in his creation, know ourselves at one with it and see our lives as a gift given to us so that others may live more fully. Therefore, it is in the spirit of Lent that we should look carefully at our list of events which bring us to life and which help us to appreciate, value, cherish and wonder at God’s creation, and ensure that we give time to these events during Lent.
Find a text which directs your attention to your longing for life, for example, ‘Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live in the love of Yahweh your God’, and speak to God from your heart, telling him of your longings, asking him to guide you. ‘God, create a clean heart in me, put into me a new and constant spirit’ (Psalm 51:10).
Prayer
God, source of all life, Power of all power, in whom we live and move and have our being, release us from our imprisoning fears and from every form of self-preoccupation which robs us of the gift of wonder at the miracles of your creation and blinds us to you, present in all things and dwelling in every human being. We ask you this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.